Wrestling nationals: In Rajbir and Sajan, a rare chance for coach and protégé to celebrate medals

Gonda, Uttar Pradesh: Sajan Bhanwala returned with two medals from the Nandini College of Gonda. Sajan, a Greco Roman wrestler, had participated in the 77 kg weight category at the senior national championships. He won a gold medal for his pursuits.

His coach, Rajvir Chikkara, also a wrestler from the Greco-Roman school, ended with a bronze medal in the 82 kg weight category. They boarded the train back to New Delhi, two medals in tow.

At 34, Rajvir has wrestled at 14 senior national championships and won medals at 13 of them, including eight of the golden variety. The bronze on Friday was his first after a gap of two years. Gonda has been a special venue for the coach-cum-grappler; his medal was also won in the same town.

This bronze might just outstrip the elation of the eight golden medals that preceded it.

“I was just thinking whether I could match him (Sajan). It would have been nice to finish with a gold medal with him but this doesn’t feel bad. We have a medal together for the first time. Mera dhyan vahi tha. Sab uske liye hi karna hai ab. (My focus was completely at Sajan’s match. All preparations must be geared towards him now) When Sajan was receiving the medal, I was wrestling but there was a challenge and during that time I saw him receiving the medal. It felt great,” Rajvir says.

The Haryana wrestler has been in the sport for 20 years but his first senior-level medal came in 2004 when he won a gold. He was still India’s top wrestler in his weight category when Sajan came to train under him at the Pratap Sports School, Kharkhoda.

But in just eight years, Sajan has become India’s top wrestler in a category that was once Rajvir’s own. Most in wrestling circles find it amusing that a coach and his student won a medal together but hail Rajvir’s longevity.

“He’s been around for a lot of years. Though he is still wrestling, everyone is calling him a coach. Even wrestlers who once competed with him are calling him coach. But it’s nice to win a medal alongside him,” Sajan says.

Not only did the two win medals, they had to be in the coach’s corner for each other. For a day, Sajan was shouting instructions to Rajvir during the bouts. “When you stand on that mat, you forget everything. So when you hear those voices from your corner, you can concentrate more. So I decided to shout some instructions to him,” he says.

It would not have been possible, had Rajvir not asked Sajan to resign from Indian Air Force and join Indian Railways just three days before the national championships.

“I asked him to shift because I am employed with the Railways, so it will be easier for me to coach him in the future. I have completed my diploma from NIS. But that brings added pressure. I told my management that he can win the gold so there was pressure on both of us,” Rajvir says.

Those feelings of pressure, though, were short-lived. Sajan dominated the 77kg field en route his first gold medal at the senior level. He defeated title favourite R Rafiq Holi of Services and later Krishan Kand Yadav of Bihar in the final to stand atop the podium.

It was an ideal ending for him. In a breakthrough year which saw him win a silver medal at the junior world championships and a gold at the Asian championships, Sajan hopes that this experience helps him improve.

“I have learnt a lot from this tournament. Wrestling with all the seniors makes you stronger and now I will be in the camp so I hope to improve. The Under-23 Worlds were also a great experience as I wrestled with all the top wrestlers from Europe,” he says.

Rajvir is not surprised at his ward’s success at international tournaments. “We prepare a lot. Greco-Roman may be popular in India but we have tried focusing on the skills that the best wrestlers in Europe do. We watch videos, try to practice them in training. The results have shown that but we want to improve,” he says.