Bajrang Punia splits with coach

New Delhi, November 22

Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has decided to split with Georgian coach Shako Bentinidis and may hire Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Andriy Stadnik if talks with the Ukrainian succeed.

Under the guidance of Bentinidis, the 27-year-old Bajrang won an Olympics bronze medal in Tokyo, 2018 Asian Games gold and a bronze at the 2019 World Championships.

However, there has not been much improvement on his perennial weak leg defence. “Yes, I am looking for a new coach for the new Olympics cycle,” Bajrang said. “There is nothing wrong with Shako, I learnt a lot from him but a new coach can be tried for better results,” he added.

However, according to a Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) source, Bajrang was, of late, not happy with the way Bentinidis carried out his job. “We have learnt that Shako did not attend to him properly when he suffered an injury in Russia before the Games,” said the source. — PTI

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