Indian wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya opt to train under Indian coaches

Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia and silver medallist Ravi Dahiya have decided to train under Indian coaches ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After sparing several months looking for a foreign coach, both the Indian grapplers have informed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) they would prefer to train under Indian coaches.

The names of the coaches that will be appointed for the Olympians are yet to be revealed.

Bajrang used to train under coach Shako Bentinidis from Georgia, while Ravi trained with Russian coach Kamal Malikov.

"Coaches are not willing to come to India," says wrestler Bajrang Punia

Bronze medallist Bajrang Punia stated that despite several attempts at trying to find a coach, he has failed to successfully appoint one. He said that none of the coaches are willing to come to India. However, the 27-year-old did not reveal the reasons behind their unwillingness.

"I don't understand what their issue is in coming to India? These coaches want me to spend at least 80 per cent of the season in their country, a condition which is not acceptable to me. I am willing to spend half the time outside, but no one is willing to come to India, so I have decided to train with an Indian coach," said Bajrang Punia to PTI Moscow.

Meanwhile, Ravi Dahiya has recently commenced training at his training center following the cancelation of training camp in Russia. The cancelation happened due to a sudden spike in the Omicron variant of COVID-19 cases globally. The 24-year-old wrestler was scheduled to leave for Moscow this week for pre-season training sessions.

"All Ravi wants is one more training partner. We will identify one for him in his category during the Ranking Series event in Gonda," said WFI Assistant Secretary Vinod Tomar said.

Ravi is currently training with the help of his friend Arun Kumar. However, Mahabali Satpal, who has played a crucial role in shaping Ravi's career, is also keenly observing his training schedule at Chhatrasal Stadium.