Bajrang Punia dismisses report of sacking coach Shako Bentinidis

There have been quite a few rumors running the mills of late which claim that star wrestler Bajrang Punia has removed his personal coach Shako Bentinidis from the team. With the media clamoring to hear a confirmation from Punia's side, it was soon revealed that the 25-year-old wrestler has made no such calls and the Georgian, Shako Bentinidis is still very much his personal coach. Punia, expressed himself clearly when asked and erased the cloudy nature of the rumor about the termination of his coach.

The World Number 1 wrestler in the 65 kg category was considerably surprised when he was asked by the media about this decision. Punia vehemently voiced, “I fail to understand who has said this and why? Shako is my coach and I should have been asked about it. I really felt bad after reading that frivolous report. There is no truth in it,” Bajrang shot back against a certain media report.

Shako Bentinidis has been a towering figure in Bajrang Punia's growth as an international wrestler. Appointed by the JSW, Bentinidis played a crucial role in guiding Punia to many a victory. However, the two were assumed to be undergoing a difficult spur with Bentinidis posing as a problem. There have been reports earlier of his rude behavior and anger doing the rounds with several complaints being made against the Georgian. There also have been certain issues with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and Bentinidis in the past.

However, when probed further, both JSW as well as 3-time World Championship medalist Bajrang Punia, showed no inclination to bid goodbye to the 44-year-old freestyle wrestler from Georgia. “He is my personal coach, arranged by JSW. This is beyond me to understand why it was reported that I have sacked him. Who is saying this and why? I don’t intend to change my coach,”  Punia told the PTI.

There are several reasons as to why it was thought that perhaps Punia has parted ways with his longtime coach, Bentinidis. The most recent one being the action taken by Shako Bentinidis in the semi-finals of the World Championships. During Bajrang's bout against Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov, the referee awarded four points to Nyazbekov for a throw against which Bentinidis protested. That protest cost Punia an extra point which many believed to be the determining factor in getting Punia a ticket into the finals. Following this rash action, Bentinidis had to apologize to the WFI in Nur Sultan for this protest call.

With just about nine months to go for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the pressure is beginning to rise in the wrestling camp. The 25-year-old Punia is a medal favorite from the country and all eyes will be locked on him when he enters the ring. Under Shako's expert wing, Punia has excelled tremendously and has become the World Number 1, a feat par excellence. “...There is a lot of pressure on Bajrang to win a medal at Olympics and so close to Olympics, it’s also not strategically a good move to change coach now at this stage, so there is no plan to change anything," said Manisha Malhotra, Head of Sports Excellence and Scouting at JSW to the PTI.

Punia, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation for an elbow injury is expected to soon return to the ring and train with Shako again. With the dream of Tokyo looming near, both Bentinidis, as well as Punia, do not want to distract themselves to such news and rather concentrate on the preparations for the Olympics. With all the rumors cast aside, Punia and his coach are ready to focus on the rapidly approaching multi-sporting extravaganza and further India's chances for a medal.