Deepak Punia awarded World Wrestling’s Junior Wrestler of the Year

Among the rising stars in wrestling, perhaps Deepak Punia shines the brightest currently after having broken an 18-year-long hiatus and crowning himself as the Junior World Champion in Talinn, Estonia earlier during the month of August. Punia has soared into further glory and has been given the tag of 'Junior Freestyle Wrestler of the Year' by the United World Wrestling organization.

Punia has been the talking point ever since he achieved the feat of becoming a Junior World Champion and also becoming the only Indian wrestler in 2019 to make it to the Senior World Wrestling Championships Final. Although Punia could not play in the Finals owing to injury issues against Iran's Hassan Yazdani, he ensured that he took home a silver medal and booked himself a spot in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics 86kg Freestyle Wrestling category.

The winner of the Cadet World Championships in 2016, Punia has been a sensational presence on the wrestling scene. Ranked at Number 1 by the United World Wrestling organization currently, the 19-year-old is going to shoulder the hopes of the country when he goes to Tokyo 2020.

Punia's strength and passion are exceptional and he has already proven his true merit. With just 100 days to go for the Olympics torch relay, Punia's confidence will surely boost up with this new feather in his cap of being the Junior Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, as he gears up for next year.