Bajrang Punia, named after the patron deity of Indian wrestling, entered wrestling lore by winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Fighting an injured knee a month ago, the 27-year-old defeated Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan in the bronze medal playoff in the 65kg wrestling category at the Makuhari Messe wrestling arena.
Bajrang had earlier faced Niyazbekov. He recently defeated them at the Ali Aliyev tournament, just a month before the Olympics. He also lost once to a Kazakh in a controversial bout in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Championship. Bajrang had recovered from that defeat with a bronze medal - his third in the world, a feat unprecedented for an Indian at that level.
No matter what, he should return empty-handed from the only tournament that mattered to him - the Olympics. He saw a pale shadow of himself on the first day of his competition in Tokyo. Although the knee had healed, his ability to bear weight was affected and his movement was severely restricted in his first two bouts. He had then expressed his desire to win. In their semi-final against Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan the challenge proved too much.
He did not speak to the media after that defeat, but his coach Shako Bentinidis did. He said, "Bajrang needs to get his focus back. It doesn't matter what he has won so far. The biggest match of his career is tomorrow, this is the most important fight of his life."
Bajrang had come prepared for the war on Saturday. He came without a knee brace and had worn it on his injured knee the day before.
He would fight in a manner that had already made him one of the stalwarts of the game in India. He put pressure on Niyazbekov. He weighed it on his shoulders. They tired him. The Kazakh was satisfied only in the first period. He conceded a point for passivity and then another after being pushed off the mat. In the second Bajrang's pressure finally broke him. He was taken down three times, making the score 8-0 for the Indian. There was no response from the Indian side for speed and relentlessness.
When the last whistle sounded, there was only silence. Bajrang hugged his coaches and then clapped his fists. In the span of six minutes he went from a great to a legend.