सीनियर खिलाड़ियों को तो फिर भी पुरस्कार रकम काट के दी गइ, जूनियर खलाडिय़ों को क्या सीनियर बन्ने तक प्रतिक्षा करनी प… https://t.co/wdchrv9RGv — Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) 1565885745000

NEW DELHI: Think of the name Punia and Indian sports together and you will most probably think of star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia . But there's another wrestler, with the same name who has also begun to make waves, 20-year-old Deepak Punia .“It was my dream to become a world champion someday and it finally came true,” an elated Deepak Punia told Timesofindia.com. The Indian grappler won a gold medal in 86kg category at the Junior World Championships at Tallinn, Estonia recently. He claimed the top honours with a win against Russia's Alik Shebzukhov.“I am so happy and proud that I have fulfilled the dream and made my country proud. No one can truly express the feeling of standing on the podium with a medal for the country,” Punia said.This in fact was the last time Deepak was participating in a junior tournament. Punia will now switch over to the seniors and in fact represent India at the upcoming senior World Championship in Kazakhatan, after going through the trials . The senior World Championships will be held from September 14 to September 22.And the 20-year-old grappler targets another gold medal-winning show in the senior category as well.“My main target is senior World Championships right now. I am leaving on September 1. The senior tournament is as important as the junior one for me. I want to win the gold medal in the senior category as well,” Punia told TimesofIndia.com.“If I will win a medal at the World Championships, I will book a quota for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Qualifying for Tokyo Olympics is my main target,” he said.Punia was born and brought up in Chhara village in Jhajjar (Haryana), a few kilometres away from Bajrang Punia’s house. The 20-year-old said he is lucky that he has someone like Bajrang as his senior and is proud that he shares the same last name as the World No. 1 (65kg) wrestler.“I am from Chhara village in Jhajjar and Bajrang bhai stays in Khudan village, a few kilometres from my house. I am proud that I am also a Punia. He is World No. 1 and I have learnt a lot from him,” Deepak said.“We have attended a lot of camps together. He is a senior wrestler. Whenever I am in doubt or have any problem, I talk to him about it. He is always there to help me. The best thing about Bajrang bhai is that he motivates me a lot. During training camps, he observes me closely. He tells me the mistakes that I make and then gives me advice and tips to correct those mistakes. He has also told me how to tackle pressure during a game.” Punia said.Bajrang and another champion wrestler from India in fact also played a part in Deepak pursuing wrestling .“My parents always wanted me to be a wrestler. That’s because of Sushil bhai ( Sushil Kumar ) and Bajrang bhai. I used to go to a nearby Akhara in my village and then came to Delhi and started training at the Chhatrasal Stadium. I learned the art of wrestling from my personal coach Virender Singh and Mahabali Satpal. They have played a vital role in my career,” he said.Punia, a junior world champion, winner of the 2016 cadet world championships and many sub junior titles, rues the lack of monitory support from the Haryana government so far.According to him, he hasn’t been given any cash awards since his Cadet World Championships win in 2016.World No. 1 wrestler Bajrang in fact also tweeted about this after Deepak won the junior World Championship recently."Senior wrestlers' prize money has already been deducted. Now how long will a junior wrestler have to wait to get some encouragement from the government? Does a junior wrestler wait to turn into a senior before getting rewarded by the government. The colour of the medal is same. The medal has been won for India. And yet there is discrimination in what athletes in the senior category get and what the junior and cadet players get,” Bajrang had said in his tweet.“I haven’t got any prize money from Haryana government. I was a world champion in the Cadet World Championships in 2016. I haven’t got a single penny since that tournament. I haven’t got any money from the Haryana Government for winning the sub junior tournaments. I won gold medals in both Cadet and sub junior World Championships. It has been three years, I haven’t got anything from them. I was told I will get a particular amount of money when I won medals at the National level, but when I received it, they (Haryana Govt) had deducted a certain portion of that too,” the 20-year-old junior World Champion Punia said.“You need to fill some forms and complete some formalities in order to get the reward. I did all of that. The wrestling Federation also wrote a letter to them but there is no response from their end,” he said.“A sportsperson wins medal for country but when he doesn’t get the promised reward, it hurts. Rewards motivate sportspersons,” Punia signed off.