Bajrang Punia Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Wrestler
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	5' 5" (166 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle
Coach	Sujeet Maan
Medals	Gold • Commonwealth Championship Singapore (65 kg) (2016) • Commonwealth Championship Brakpan (65 kg) (2017) • Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Ashgabat (70 kg) (2017) • Asian Championships New Delhi (65 kg) (2017) • Asian Games Jakarta (65 kg) (2018) • Commonwealth Games Gold Coast (65 kg) (2018) • Asian Championships Xi'an (65 kg) (2019) • Commonwealth Games Birmingham (65 kg) (2022) Silver • Asian Championships Astana (61 kg) (2014) • Asian Games Incheon (61 kg) (2014) • World U23 Championships Bydgoszcz (65 kg) (2017) • World Championships Budapest (65 kg) (2018) • Asian Championships New Delhi (65 kg) (2020) • Asian Championships Almaty (65 kg) (2021) • Asian Championships Ulanbator (65 kg) (2022) Bronze • Asian Championships New Delhi (60 kg) (2013) • World Championships Budapest (60 kg) (2013) • Asian Championships Bishkek (65 kg) (2018) • World Championships Nur-Sultan (65 kg) (2019) • Olympic Games Tokyo (65 kg) (2020) • Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Almaty (65 kg) (2022)
Awards	• 2015: Arjuna Award • 2019: Padma Shri Award • 2019: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award • 2020: FICCI India Sports Award
Politics
Political Party	Indian National Congress (INC)
Political Journey	• Joined the Indian National Congress (September 2024) • Appointed the All India Kisan Congress's working chairman (September 2024)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	26 February 1994 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2024)	30 Years
Birthplace	Khudan, Jhajjar, Haryana, India
Zodiac sign	Pisces
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Khudan, Jhajjar, Haryana, India
College/University	The regional centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sonepat, India
Educational Qualification	Wrestling training at the regional centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Sonepat, India.
Hobby	Dancing
Controversies	• Once, Bajrang Punia blamed the government of India and policy of giving the Khel Ratna Award. In a media conversation, he mentioned that he would sue the government for giving the honour. According to some media sources, Bajrang made this statement after Virat Kohli was honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award with an achievement score of Zero, and he had the highest score of 80. • Protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh On 18 January 2023, Bajrang Punia along with wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik held a sit-in protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Phogat alleged that the WFI officials and coaches were harassing women. She also made allegations against the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for sexually harassing many girls. She said, “Some coaches who are favourites of the federation misbehave with women coaches as well. They sexually harass girls. The WFI president has sexually harassed so many girls." Later, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh denied the allegations and said that there was no incident of sexual harassment. He also questioned why the protesting wrestlers never approached the federation for the past ten years and said that he would hang himself if the allegations will be proved true. Mr. Sharan Singh quoted, "If such a thing has happened, then I will hang myself." [1]The Hindu In April 2023, some sources quoted that the accusations against him could not be proved. [2]The Economic Times On 23 April 2023, the wrestles again sat on protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding a case of sexual harassment to be registered against Brij Bhushan. The wrestlers claimed that the promises that were made to them were not held up and their demands had not been fulfilled despite assurances. [3]Hindustan Times On 25 April 2023, seven wrestlers moved the Supreme Court, seeking FIR against Brij Bhushan, following which the apex court issued notice to Delhi police and asked the Delhi police to respond as to why FIR be not registered against Brij Bhushan. [4]The Times of India On 28 April 2023, the Delhi Police registered two FIRs against Brij Bhushan; one FIR was related to allegations of a minor wrestler which was registered under the POCSO Act, while the second FIR was based on the complaints of the women wrestlers. Brij Bhushan's close aide and the federation’s assistant secretary Vinod Tomar was also named in the FIRs. [5]The Indian Express Following the FIR against him, Brij Bhushan called the protesters a stooge in the hands of the Congress and said that Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda and wrestler Bajrang Punia hatched a conspiracy against him. Mr. Singh also alleged that one of the key reasons behind the protests was the Phogat family wanted to take over the wrestling body. In the second leg of the wrestlers' protest, many politicians including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi visited the protest site; Pappu Yadav and Satya Pal Malik also visited the site. [6]Hindustan Times On 25 June 2023, wrestlers called of their protest and decided to battle it out in court. [7]India Today • Suspended by NADA On 23 April 2024, he was suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for not providing urine sample during the selection trials. On 31 May 2024, his suspension was revoked by the Anti-Disciplinary Doping Panel (ADDP). On 23 June 2024, NADA again suspended him. [8]The Times of India
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	25 November 2020
Family
Wife/Spouse	Sangeeta Punia (wrestler)
Parents	Father- Balvan Singh Punia Mother- Om Pyari Punia
Siblings	Elder Brother- Harendra Punia
Favourites
Sports	Basketball, Football, River Rafting
Food	Churma
Wrestler	Yogeshwar Dutt, Captain Chandrup

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bajrang Punia

• According to Bajrang Punia, he started practising wrestling when he was seven years old. His father encouraged him to pursue wrestling as a career. As he had a good athletic physique, he wished to participate in sports but his family did not have enough money to enrol him in sports academies for training. This led him to participate in free sports like Wrestling and Kabaddi.

• Bajrang’s father and elder brother were once well-known wrestlers, who enrolled him in a local wrestling school. To practice wrestling, Bajrang used to skip school. In 2008, he joined the Chattarsal Stadium, where he received his wrestling training from Ramphal Mann.

• In 2013, Bajrang participated in the Asian Wrestling Championships, which was his debut international tournament and won a Bronze medal for India. He then went on to participate in several wrestling championships including Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and several national and international tournaments and won many medals.
  

  Bajrang Punia while wrestling

• After winning several medals for India, the Government of India posted him as a Gazetted officer at OSD Sports in the Indian Railways.

• In a conversation with a media house, Bajrang Punia once disclosed that he enjoyed gaining knowledge from the elders of his village.

• In 2015, his family shifted to Sonepat, where he was enrolled in a regional centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

• According to the family members of Bajrang, he was named after an Indian god Lord Hanuman as Bajrang was born on Tuesday, which is considered an auspicious day to worship Lord Hanuman.

• Apart from wrestling, Bajrang loves playing Basketball and Football.
  

  Bajrang while playing basketball

• In his leisure time, Bajrang likes dancing.

• According to Bajrang Punia, he used to participate in several local wrestling competitions to earn money before becoming a professional wrestler.

• Bajrang’s personal coach is renowned Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, and Bajrang wishes to become like Yogeswar Dutt.
  

  Bajrang Punia with Yogeshwar Dutt

• Bajrang became the first Indian wrestler who won a Gold medal for India in Asian Games in 2017.

• In 2018, Bajrang Punia won a silver medal at the 2018 World Wrestling Championship, and upon this win, he was considered the World No. 1 in the 65 kg category.
  

  Bajrang Punia meeting Narendra Modi

• Bajrang Punia won a gold medal at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament in Ruse, Bulgaria in a wrestling championship and dedicated this medal to the Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

• On, 25 November 2020, Bajrang Punia and his fellow wrestler, Sangeeta Phogat got married in Village Balali in Haryana. Soon after his marriage, he posted a heartfelt note and his marriage picture with Sangeeta on his Instagram account. He wrote,
  

  Today, I have chosen my life partner and it feels like I have gained another family. I am starting a new chapter in my life and I am both happy and excited for the journey ahead. Thank you for your love and wishes.”

  

  Bajrang Punia on his wedding day

• Soon after winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Bajrang was felicitated with ₹30 lakh (US$39,000) from the Government of India, ₹2.5 crores (US$330,000) from the Government of Haryana, ₹25 lakh (US$33,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and ₹25 lakh (US$33,000) from the Indian Olympic Association.
  

  Bajrang Punia after winning a Bronze medal in 2020

• Bajrang remains very active on various social media platforms. He often shares pictures and videos on social media. Over 539k people follow his Instagram account. On Facebook, he is followed by more than 761k people. Over 323k people follow his Twitter handle.

• On 22 December 2023, Bajrang Punia tried to return his 2019 Padma Shri award to the Prime Minister’s residence. The Delhi police, however, stopped him at Rajpath, so he left the award on the footpath. Punia’s decision was an act of protest against the appointment of Sanjay Singh as the President of the Wrestling Federation of India; Punia opposed Sanjay’s election due to his association with the politician Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faced sexual harassment allegations from female wrestlers. ^[9]Republic World

• Bajrang left the Sports Authority of India centre in hush and tears after he failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics on 10 March 2024. ^[10]Hindustan Times

• He and Vinesh Phogat resigned from their Indian Railways jobs and joined the Indian National Congress ahead of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha election in September 2024.
  

  Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat with Rahul Gandhi