He used to work in the Indian Railways on the post of Gazetted officer OSD Sports and resigned in 2024 September[8] Punia is married to fellow wrestler Sangeeta Phogat.
[11] On 7 September 2024, Punia joined Indian National Congress along with fellow wrestler Vinesh Phogat after meeting Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi just before the 2024 Haryana Legislative Assembly election.
[3] According to some political analysts, Punia and Phogat's entry in Congress was a boost for the party, which was aiming to consolidate Jat votes and capitalize on the anti-incumbency against the Haryana BJP in the 2024 state elections.
[1] According to senior Congress leaders, Punia was expected to raise the voice of the farmers and labourers of the country in his new important role in the party.
[1] In New Delhi, India, in the semi-final bout, Bajrang lost 3–1 to Hwang Ryong-hak of North Korea to win the bronze medal in the men's freestyle 60 kg category.
With the Bulgarian grappler qualifying for the final bout, Bajrang then faced Shogo Maeda of Japan and earned a walkover.
His next opponent was Ivan Guidea of Romania, and with a 10–3 win over the Romanian, Bajrang earned a spot in the bronze medal bout.
[13] In Glasgow, Scotland, he won the silver medal in the men's freestyle 61 kg category, after losing 1–4 to David Tremblay of Canada.
[14][15] In Incheon, South Korea, he won the silver medal in the Men's freestyle 61 kg category, after losing 1–3 to Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouybari of Iran.
[16] In Astana, Kazakhstan, Bajrang won the silver medal in the men's freestyle 61 kg category, losing 0–4 to Masoud Esmaeilpour of Iran.
Unfortunately, he fell at the last hurdle, drawing the bronze medal bout 6–6 but his opponent Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine, scoring the last point.
[24] He won Bronze for the second time at a World Championship, thereby qualifying India for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 65 kg freestyle wrestling event.
[31] Bajrang clinched the gold medal with a dominating win over Canada's Lachlan McNeil in the 65kg final bout at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
[32] In April 2024, Punia was suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for refusing to give his urine sample for a dope test during the selection trials of the 2024 Olympic qualifiers.
Punia has been protesting against the alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Chief - Brij Bhushan Singh.