Wrestling couple Bajrang Punia, Sangeeta Phogat to marry this year
With the Olympics deferred, Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogata are keen on marriage before shifting their focus towards the Tokyo Olympics.
Indian wrestling’s power couple Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogat are expected to marry later this year.
The duo got engaged last year and had planned on getting married post the Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled in 2020.
But with Tokyo 2020 pushed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are working towards finalising a wedding date before they can get down to focusing on the now-deferred Games.
“It will be in November or December as mostly all weddings in our family including (sisters) Geeta, Babita and Vinesh’s wedding took place in November-December only,” Sangeeta Phogat told Hindustan Times.
Geeta Phogat, who is also aiming for the Olympics next year, is married to fellow wrestler Pawan Kumar. Babita Phogat wed grappler Vivek Suhag while Vinesh Phogat hitched with former national champion Somvir Rathee.
Sangeeta Phogat and Bajrang Punia first met at a national wrestling camp in Sonipat, Haryana a few years back. Though it took some time for the two to hit it off, Sangeeta admitted it’s been a smooth courtship ever since.
“(My sisters) Geeta and Babita knew Bajrang from before. I met him at the SAI Center where he used to train,” said Sangeeta, narrating their initial days in an interview to Wrestling TV.
“We started talking, started liking each other’s company. We started feeling for each other, it was mutual. My parents also liked him as he was a good wrestler with a lovable personality. Then the elders met and decided that we should get married.”
While Bajrang is busy preparing for what will be his debut Olympics at Tokyo 2020, Sangeeta is working on her rehabilitation following an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury that kept her out for the majority of the 2019 season.
Though a shot at the Olympics seemed far fetched given the gravity of the injury, with the Games being postponed, the youngest of the Phogats is hoping to make the Indian rank when the qualifications resume next year.
“Had the Olympics been held this year, I could not have made a comeback. But now I will make a return in the 62kg,” Sangeeta, a silver medallist at the National Championships, said.
Staying with her elder sister Geeta Phogat, the 22-year-old Sangeeta has returned to the mat after a lengthy lay off. She will be eyeing the national trials ahead of the Asian Olympic qualifying event next year