‘Never asked Bajrang to concede match’

New Delhi: Bajrang Punia’s claim that ‘I asked him to concede wrestling bouts on purpose’ is nothing but a “blatant lie”, London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt said on Sunday as the mud-slinging match between the top wrestlers of the country continued.

Bajrang, in a live social media address, had claimed on Saturday that the London Olympics bronze medallist several times asked him to lose matches on purpose in the past.

“I never told him to lose any match. It’s a blatant lie,” Yogeshwar told PTI when asked about Bajrang’s claim.

“During the (2016) Olympic qualification, he was part of the 65kg trials but we were not pitted against each other. Amit Dhankar had defeated him. In the final bout, I fought against Amit,” he said.

“In the Pro Wrestling League, we fought against each other. There I won 3-0. If I wanted, I could have scored more and everybody knows that it was a show fight.” Dutt, who is now a BJP leader, said he always took Bajrang on foreign training trips as his sparring partner.

“Before 2016 Olympics whenever I went abroad I took Bajrang along with me. Despite all this, he has betrayed me. I don’t know why is he accusing me and tarnishing my image.” (PTI)