After India saw its best-ever performance in the Tokyo Olympics with seven medals, an unsatisfied bronze medalist wrestler Bajrang Punia said India will try to push for 20-25 medals in the Paris Olympics.
"Many players were featuring in the Olympics for the first time. We won seven medals, we had planned for more but managed to better previous Olympics' results. We will try to do even better in Paris and push for 20-25 medals in the next Olympics," Punia said in an interview with NDTV.
Bajrang's smart attacking moves made him a 8-0 winner against Kazakhstan's Niyazbekov, to whom he had lost in the semi-final of the 2019 World Championship, getting him the bronze medal.
Bajrang had skipped the Poland Open, the last ranking event before the Tokyo Games, arguing that he needed training more than the points and headed to Russia, where he trained and also ended up injuring his right knee by choosing to compete in a local event -- Ali Aliev tournament.
"During my bouts on Friday, the injury was playing in the back of my mind. I was unable to make the movements; tried to attack and was also worried about my knee," he told the news outlet.
With Bajrang's medal, Indian wrestlers matched their best performance at the Olympic Games by earning two podium finishes. Ravi Dahiya had won an inspiring silver medal in the 57kg category.
Published 09 August 2021, 06:02 IST