Bajrang Punia set to miss Bulgaria trip due to elbow discomfort

Bajrang Punia will not travel to Bulgaria due to a niggle in his elbow that he suffered during the Asian Championship in Almaty, earlier this month.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) have organised a camp in Sofia, where the World Olympic Qualifiers are set to be held from May 6 to 9. 

Punia has already conveyed his unavailability to WFI as he is still nursing the elbow injury. 

In spite of putting up an impressive show in the Asian Championship in the preliminary and semi-final bouts of the 65kg freestyle category, he had to pull himself out of the final against Japanese Takuto Otoguro. 

Punia recently made headlines for coming back to social media to help fellow Indians during the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. He had renounced every social platform in March as he deemed it an unnecessary distraction that could deviate his focus from his preparations for the upcoming Tokyo 2020. But on Tuesday morning he announced that he is getting back on to the public platforms. 

"I stopped using social media to focus on the Olympics. But I have to use it in view of the Corona crisis in our beloved country," he stated.

"Whatever I am, I am with the love and blessings of you people. If I don't help being a player, then it is of no use to be a sportsman. I am ready to help in every possible way in this crisis," Punia further added.

The grappler has also got himself vaccinated as a protective measure against the deadly virus.

Leading women's wrestler Sonam Malik will also not travel to Sofia as she has suffered a knee injury and will not train for three weeks. She got injured during the semifinals of the Asian Olympic qualification which was also held in Almaty from April 9 to 11. In fact, she even had to withdraw from the gold medal match and settled for silver. 

The injury also prevented her from competing in the Asian Wrestling Championships.