Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia set to travel abroad for training

Both Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are resuming their focus towards wrestling and will set up training bases in Kazakhstan.

Just a few days since calling off their protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Singh, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are set to resume their wrestling careers. They will both be moving abroad over the course of the weekend in order to set up training bases in Kazakshtan to prepare for upcoming events and competitions.

Both Bajrang and Vinesh were heavily involved and led the wrestlers’ protest, first in January and then from April onwards. Both of them have now decided to begin training in order to get in shape for the selection trials for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Bajrang is expected to make his training base in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul for 36 days from July 1 to August 5. He will be joined by his coach Sujeet Maan, physiotherapist Anuj Gupta, sparring partner Jitender and strength and conditioning coach Kaazi Kiron Mustafa Hasan. The government has already decided to sanction a total amount of Rs 9 lakh and 27 thousand in order to fund his trip and preparations.

Meanwhile, Vinesh will first make way to Bishkek in Kazakhstan for the first week of July before shifting to Hungary’s capital in Budapest where she is expected to remain until the end of the month.

From the information meted out by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), she will take part in two international training camps during this period and will be accompanied by her coach, Sudesh, and physiotherapist Ashwini Patil.

Sangeeta Phogat, another wrestler who has led the protests against Brij Bhushan, will travel with Vinesh as her sparring partner. A total of approximately Rs 8 lakh, 50 thousand has been earmarked for her tour.

Both the proposals were approved by the government on Thursday and they fall under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

Vinesh and Bajrang have shared their time in the limelight lately because of their persistent protests against WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh. As a result, they have been away from the wrestling mat for most of 2023 and are involved in a race against time to make it back to shape and fitness before the primary events of the year.

While at one point, the wrestlers had given up their hopes of competing at the World Championships and Asian Games, they were forced to return to training following Delhi Police filing a chargesheet against them. Earlier this week, while calling off the protests, Vinesh said they will now fight the battle in the court instead of on the streets.

Further reports also suggest that for the last week, the wrestlers have been spending four to five hours training at the Sonepat centre of SAI. Despite that, the duo believe that moving their training bases abroad would serve them better given the sheer amount of distractions in India.

Vinesh and Bajrang will return to India by the first week of August to take part in the selection trials for the year’s two major tournaments, the World Championships in September (also an Olympic qualifier) and the Asian Games, whose wrestling tournament will take place in October.