World Championships silver medallist Deepak Punia has been named the Junior Freestyle Wrestler of the Year by United World Wrestling after a stellar season during which he made a phenomenal transition from the junior to the senior circuit.

“I am feeling very happy. It’s a great honour for me to be selected among all the wrestlers from the world. This is really a big source of inspiration for me to keep improving and giving my best,” said Punia.

Punia became the first Indian wrestler in 18 years to win a junior world title. He then backed it up with a silver medal on his debut at the senior World Championships.

The 18-year-old’s maturity and fearlessness on the big stage made him the only Indian wrestler to make it to the final at the World Championships in Kazakhstan. An injury prevented him from taking the mat against Hassan Yazdani of Iran in the final but Punia made it a debut to remember by grabbing a Tokyo Olympics berth in 86kg as well.

Punia, a 2016 cadet world champion, is putting in the hard yards under the watchful eyes of Murad Gaidarov, a Beijing Olympics silver medallist and 2003 World Championships silver medallist.

“I have been pretty satisfied with the few days of training we had so far,” Punia said. “Gaidarov has been working hard on my weaknesses. We had worked on my ground wrestling and my speed-work and I feel I am getting better,” he added.