An unprecedented 2018 for Bajrang Punia came to an end with a silver in the 65kg freestyle division at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest in his kitty.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a great run over the last 12 months, winning the Commonwealth Games (CWG) as well as the Asian Games gold before losing the Worlds title bout to a technically superior Japanese wrestler Takuto Otoguro 9-16.
Many would argue that such a scoreline was a huge setback for the Indian grappler. However, there was a big positive to take away.
The way Punia narrowly won his quarterfinals bout against Mongolia's Tulga Tumur Ochir 5-3 or clinched the semifinal against Cuba's Alejandro Enrique Valdes Tobier 4-3 was a result of his new-found strength under his new personal coach, Shako Bentinidis from Georgia.
Punia is now a fine mixture of the traditional Indian style, which he has inherited from his coach and former Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, and the power-packed Russian mix of strength and technique that is usually found in Georgian as well as Iranian wrestlers.
The Haryana grappler has worked hard on the physical aspect of his game under Bentinidis, something that was evident during his bouts during the Worlds.
Although it seemed like the Japanese had managed to sort Punia out even before the fight by not allowing the Indian to use his power-packed tactics, this setback will only make Punia more determined to rectify the chinks in his ever-growing armoury.
To start with, Punia was slow to react to his 19-year-old opponent. The initial 5-0 lead taken by the Japanesem who was a perfect blend of power and technique, proved too much for Punia.
Punia was quick to respond but the Japanese, a former cadet world champion, had read him too well.
In a nutshell, the Japanese was more throughout in his approach that kept in check the Indian's physical style of grappling.
One could well see coach Bentinidis yelling "attack, attack" from the corner. But Punia looked a bit confused in his mind on whether to attack or defend against his much agile opponent.
The 19-year-old Otoguro was constantly unsettling Punia by attacking his legs, a vulnerability of the Indian.
Throughout the bout, Otoguro made over a dozen attacks to Punia's right leg and managed to get points on seven accounts.
"He needs to work on that leg defence," Punia's long-time coach Yogeshwar Dutt said. "He has improved upon his strength. But once the opponent grabs your leg, it's very difficult to defend. He needs to work hard now during this upcoming off season," the London Olympics silver medallist added.
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in sight, Punia will need to overcome the deficiency.
"Bajrang is experienced now. He just needs to work on his fitness and ensure that he stays injury-free till 2020 Olympics. Bajrang has everything to win a medal there," added Dutt.
Punia needs to be aware that unlike at the Worlds, the Olympics will have fewer divisions and categories. Thus, many champion names would either increase or decrease their weights to get into the 65kg category in Japan. And that would certainly make Punia's job a lot tougher in Tokyo than in Budapest.
But the good thing is that at 24, he has age on his side, the experience of two Worlds medals and the expertise of two quality coaches behind him.
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