Bajrang Punia granted bail in defamation case filed by coach Naresh Dahiya

Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia was granted bail in a criminal defamation case, filed by coach Naresh Dahiya.

The coach had accused Bajrang, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, of tarnishing his image during the wrestlers' protest against then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly sexually abusing the women's wrestlers.

During the wrestlers' protest, Bajrang, 29, alleged Dahiya did not have any right to oppose the wrestlers' protest since he himself was under trial for a rape case.

Following Bajrang's remarks, Dahiya moved the court, which summoned Bajrang, who lost to Japan’s Kaiki Yamaguchi via technical superiority (10-0) in the bronze medal match at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Dahiya, on his part, claimed that he came out clean of the rape case as the court acquitted him, thus Bajrang's remarks brought his name in a bad light.

“Bajrang had sought exemption from physical appearance and missed the first three hearings. He appeared physically today and the court has granted him bail. The next date for hearing is March 5,” advocate Rajesh Kumar Rexwal, representing Dahiya, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI after the court proceedings.

Bajrang was one of the leading faces in the wrestlers' protest, which also saw Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik staging protests against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan, who refuted the allegation of sexual harassment.