Bajrang Punia takes a break due to elbow niggle

Bajrang Punia

India's star wrestler Bajrang Punia will miss a short training stint in Bulgaria due to a niggle in elbow that cropped up during the recently concluded Asian Wrestling Championships in Almaty. "I am feeling better. It is good to take a break and prepare for the main tournament in July," Punia told IANS. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had organised a short camp in Sofia which is also the venue for the World Olympic qualifiers scheduled to be held from May 6 to 9.

But Punia expressed his inability to train in Bulgaria as he is recovering from the minor injury sustained in Almaty, said a functionary of the WFI. The Indian wrestler had dominated his preliminary and semi-final bouts of the men's 65 kg freestyle event during the Asian Wrestling Championships.

However, he pulled out of the final against Japanese Takuto Otoguro and returned with a silver. Sonam Malik, who has qualified for Olympics in the women's 62 kg, is also nursing a knee injury and is out of training for the next three weeks.

She had injured her knee during the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic qualification tournament held in Almaty from April 9 to 11. She also withdrew from the gold medal match and had to settle for silver.

Due to the knee injury, Sonam didn't compete in the Asian Wrestling Championships in Almaty from April 13 to 18.

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