Indian wrestlers to have a shot at history at the Tokyo Olympics

Bajrang Punia, the apple of India's eye

Bajrang Punia - The Man with the Highest Expectations

India would want nothing less than a podium finish from Bajrang Punia. Hailing from Jhajjar, the young wrestler, is India's best hope for a historic Olympic gold. Bajrang is one of the few Indian wrestlers who has been extremely consistent in the international arena.

To his credit, he has hardly returned empty-handed ever since 2017, a rare feat for an Indian wrestler.

Ever since he won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in 2017, Bajrang Punia has never looked back. The famed 'pupil' of celebrated wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia made India take notice by winning a gold medal in the same discipline as his mentor.

Yogeshwar Dutt had clinched the gold medal at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.

Though he missed out on the finals, Bajrang still became one of the few Indian wrestlers who made an immediate cut to the Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2019. As such, fans expect nothing less than an Olympic podium finish, even a historic Olympic gold medal if possible.

The only obstacle that he faces, however, is the Japanese challenge, in the form of world champion Takuto Otokuro. Bajrang has been able to beat every kind of wrestler till now, but Takuto is one challenge he has not been able to overcome.

If he does that, nothing on earth can stop him from achieving what every Indian yearns for : a historic Olympic gold medal.