Bajrang Punia Breakdown, Part 2: Bajrang Returns
Photo courtesy of Martin Gabor\United World Wrestling
We begin the second article of our three part series on Bajrang focusing on his final year at 61 KG and his emergence as a contender at 65 KG. Look out for the final article, Bajrang Rises, coming out soon. This article will cover Bajrang’s 2016 through 2017 run.
2016
Bajrang’s debut competition to begin the 2016 season was the Asian Championships in Bangkok, where Bajrang would take 10th place after losing to Kum Su Jon of North Korea. The match came down to the final flurry, a heroic effort by Bajrang.
2016 Asian Championships Round of 16 match
Bajrang sought to regain momentum at the World Cup in Las Vegas, in what was a stacked field. Bajrang’s first match would be against Tony Ramos of the United States, a two time world championships representative at 57 KG wrestling up at 61 KG for the dual. In what was a 3-3 match with Ramos leading on criteria, Bajrang mistakenly believed he was ahead. With short time left, and upon realizing that in fact he was behind, Bajrang made a challenge to the ref. With a failed challenge against him and short time on the clock, Bajrang tried for a last second takedown, but it was defended by Ramos and Bajrang fell 3-3.
Bajrang would recover from his loss to Ramos and take a 9-3 win over 57 KG U-23 European Championships runner-up Mirjalal Hasanzade of Azerbaijan in his second round match. Going into the third round that would decide team placement, Bajrang faced his old rival Masoud Esmailpourjoubari of Iran, a 2012 Olympian and 2x World medalist who had beaten Bajrang four times prior in 2014. Although a closer match then their previous encounters, Esmailpour would still come out on top against Bajrang, winning 4-2.
Concluding his world cup run at 2-2, Bajrang would defeat Mehmet Soyler of Turkey by 11-0 technical fall.
2016 World Cup: Ramos vs. Bajrang
2016 World Cup: Barjang vs. Hasanzade
2016 World Cup: Bajrang vs. Esmailpour
2016 World Cup: Bajrang vs. Soyler
Taking his first competition up at 65 KG, Bajrang would win the Pune Mayor’s Cup with a tech fall win 2015 U-23 European Championships runner-up Andri Svyryd of Ukraine and a thrilling 11-10 win over Yasar Dogu champion Batmagnai Batchuulun of Mongolia. Bajrang would capture a Commonwealth Championship title at 65 KG over countryman Rahul Man and come in hot to the 61 KG Non-Olympic World Championships off the strength of those two titles.
Bajrang would face one of the premier title contenders of the weight in the form of Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan, a past world medalists and the reigning two time Asian champion and Ziolkowski champion, in his qualification match. An incredibly physical wrestler who punishes opponents with a strong underhooks, reattacks, and suffocating front headlock and headpinch, Niyazbekov seemed primed to be too much for Bajrang to handle. But Bajrang wouldn’t be phased by Niyazbekov.
After an initial early takedown from Niyazbekov, Bajrang’s pressure began to accumulate he was able to score off his go behinds, reattacks, snaps, sweep single, bent leg turk taking total control of the match in what was one of his most complete performances to date, dominating the Kazakh 12-3 to move onto the round of 16.
2016 Worlds: Bajrang vs. Niyazbekov
In the round of 16, Bajrang would win a tight match against Junior Asian champion Temurjon Usmonohunov of Uzbekistan 6-4 to make the quarterfinals. Facing him in the quarterfinals would be a Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov of Azerbaijan, who was fresh off a incredibly impressive title run at the Baku Golden Grand Prix where he had demolished 2014 world bronze medalist Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez of Cuba 9-0 in the finals. Gvarzatilov, an explosive fast paced starter and an excellent scrambler with a lethal lefty headlock and fantastic lefty high crotch and excellent leg lace would prove to be far too much for Bajrang, scoring an headlock early off Bajrang’s pressure and exposure then a swim high-c and a later gut to end Bajrang’s world championship run.
Gvarzatilov would go onto finish bronze after an insane 12-11 loss to eventual runner-up Beka Lomtadze of Georgia.
2016 Worlds: Bajrang vs. Usmonohunov
2016 Worlds: Bajrang vs. Gvarzatilov
2016 World semis: Gvarzatilov vs. Lomtadze
2017
2017 would see Bajrang transition full-time to competing at 65 KG, with his first competition coming in the form of the Indian Pro Wrestling League, where lose a tight match to his old foe Rajneesh.
Bajrang has had a history of up and down showings at the World Cup, but the 2017 World Cup would be one of the Indian star’s most difficult showings. In his opening match against old rival Batmagnai Batchuulun of Mongolia, Bajrang would fall 3-1. In a shutout duel that India lost 8-0 to Iran, Bajrang would fall 9-2 to 2016 Asian Champion Meysam Nasiri. Taking on Sefa Aksoy of Turkey, Bajrang would be defeated 11-0. His sole win of the tournament came against 2015 Cadet European champ Iveriko Julukidze of Georgia.
2017 world cup: Batchuluun vs. Bajrang
2017 world cup: Nasiri vs. Bajrang
2017 World Cup: Aksoy vs. Bajrang
2017 World Cup: Bajrang vs. Julukidze
After a disappointing performance in Iran, Bajrang rebounded in major fashion at the Dan Kolov, taking silver to European runner-up Boris Novachkov of Bulgaria. While competing in Bulgaria, Bajrang was able to defeat 2014 World rep and 2016 Ali Aliev champ Magomed Muslimov of Azerbaijan along with 2016 61 KG Russian Nationals runner-up Viktor Rassadin.
While he had shown improvement at the Dan Kolov, Bajrang still had lost his finals match in lopsided fashion so there were still questions about his progression into 65 KG and his status as a contender at the weight. Bajrang answered these questions with a title-winning performance at the Asian Championships, taking gold in a series of tight matches.
His quarterfinals match would be his most important, as he would come back to defeat Meysam Nasiri of Iran 7-5 to avenge his 9-2 loss earlier in the year at the World Cup.
His semis would see him thwart North Korea’s dangerous Gwang Kuk-Kim 3-2.
His final match would be his most decisive win, defeating Seung-Chul Lee of South Korea 6-2 to take home his first continental title.
2017 Asian Champs: Bajrang vs. Nasiri
2017 Asian Champs: Bajrang vs. Kim
2017 Asian Champs: Bajrang vs. Lee
With a runner-up finish at the Dan Kolov and a gold medal at the Asian Championships to his name, Bajrang would wrestle at his first World Championships at 65 KG, opening his tournament with a 6-2 win over German talent Alexander Semisorow.
Zurab Iakobishvili, a 2016 Olympian who had taken bronze at the European Championships and just taken gold at the Ziolkowski over Russian hammer Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov up a weight, awaited Bajrang in the round of 16. Bajrang was game throughout the match, but Iakobishvili’s speed, double leg, and stingy defense were too much for Bajrang to overcome, with him losing to the eventual world champ 6-5.
With Iakobishvili making the finals, Bajrang was given a chance at repechage to contend for a world medal but his medal aspirations would be cut short, as Yasar Dogu champ Mustafa Kaya would handle him 8-3.
2017 world's: Bajrang vs. Semisorow
3017 World's: Bajrang vs. Iakobishvili
2017 world's: Bajrang vs. Kaya
Not satisfied with the finish at the senior World Championships, Bajrang would finish the year competing at the inaugural U-23 World Championships.
Starting in the round of 16 against Panah Ilyasi of Azerbaijan, Bajrang was able to control Ilyasi to a 5-0 win.
His quarterfinal match would be much different as Heydar Yavuz of Turkey took an early lead off the strength of his speed and low level attacks, two of Bajrang’s biggest setbacks, but Bajrang’s growth showed as he was able to claw his way back and take the match 7-5 to move onto the semifinals where he would face Younes Emami of Iran.
Like he had to do before in his match with Yavuz, Bajrang overcame an early Emami lead to storm back and break the game Iranian to win 9-4 and make his first senior level world’s finals match.
2017 U-23 world's: Bajrang vs. Ilyasi
2017 U-23 World's: Bajrang vs. Yavuz
2017 U-23 world's: Bajrang vs. Emami
Awaiting Bajrang in the finals was top Russian talent Naachin Kuular, who had placed bronze at the Russian national tournament where he had electrified with his high flying throws, excellent defense, and brilliant timing and match I.Q. The Tuvan, like Bajrang, is a slow starter but for differing reasons. While Bajrang does it so as to build pressure and break his opponent, Kuular does it so that he can get a read on his opponent’s pressure and time his throws and attacks. Bajrang took an early lead against Kuular as Kuular got his reads on him and looked to establish his over-under and his underhooks, and once he figured out Bajrang, it was only a matter of time. The Tuvan Terror would score multiple throws off of countering Bajrang to win the 65 KG U-23 world championship title 17-6.
2017 U-23 World's: Bajrang vs. Kuular
At the conclusion of the U-23 World Championships, Bajrang had shown himself to be a strong competitor with an unbreakable spirit but something was still missing. Enter Emzarios “Shako” Bentinidis, a Georgian Ex-Pat with Olympic and world level experience competing for both Georgia and Greece. Shako saw the talent and drive in Bajrang and reached out to him to be his personal coach.
The growth of Bajrang under the guidance of Shako in the 2018-2020 will be looked at in further detail in the final part of the Bajrang series, Bajrang Rises, until then stay tuned and catch up on more The Fight Site content.