"I overcame an injury to win gold in Birmingham and that makes it special"- Bajrang Punia after winning consecutive gold medals at Commonwealth Games

Ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia comfortably defended his gold medal with a flawless performance at the ongoing Commonwealth Games (CWG 2022) in Birmingham on August 6.

The Indian grappler put up a superlative show to defeat Canada's Lachlan McNeil in the men's 65kg category final.

With this, he has three overall medals at CWG. He bagged silver in 2014 Glasgow, followed it up with a gold medal in the 2018 edition of the Games, then easily retained his title in 2022.

On being asked what separates both the gold medals, Punia said:

"When I won gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Games, I did not have an Olympic gold back then. This time I overcame an injury to win gold in Birmingham and that makes it special. Both the medals are of their own importance, but the gold this year will be memorable because of the hardships that I endured during the recovery process to get to this place."

Speaking about his dominance on the wrestling mat at CWG 2022, Bajrang said:

"Whenever you win a medal for the country, it's a moment of pride for any athlete. We have worked very hard post the Olympic injury. It feels good to have implemented those changes and to have come out victorious."

He further added:

"Ever since that injury during the Olympics, I have been working on gaining back my strength and natural form. It's not that I'm perfect if I have won gold, but I have for sure come a long way since recovering from injury and giving a good overall performance."

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Bajrang Punia was a force to reckon with throughout the CWG 2022

Bajrang Punia put up a sublime performance throughout the competition, having conceded just two points in four matches overall.

Bajrang won the first two matches (Round of 16 and quarter-finals) by fall. He then came in and easily won the semi-final bout by technical superiority.