Mongolian wrestling coaches strip off clothing in protest of call

Navruzov had been wrestling against Mongolia’s Mandakhnaran Ganzorig, and with about seven seconds left in the match, the Mongolian wrestler started celebrating after what he felt was a very clear win for the bronze.

Early Sunday afternoon, one of the most freaky and controversial episodes in amateur wrestling memory unfolded at the end of a 65-kilogram bronze-medal match.

WHEN it comes to memorable Olympic moments, the Mongolian wrestling coaches saved the best for last. The match ended 8-7 in favour of Ikhtiyor Navruzov. When the final buzzer sounded, Ganzorig fell to the mat in celebration. Tsostbayar, who had initially tried to pacify his partner, too went berserk, and removed everything but his underwear as he stood yelling before the judges’ table. In a insane sequence of events, the coach took the mat, and right next to the referee stripped to his underwear. Tsenrenbataar Tsostbayar followed him and removed his shirt and shoes, then one-upped Bayoraa by also taking off his trousers. “Mongolia!” despite being a primarily Brazilian crowd!

“This was a protest”.

Bayaraa stated he believed the referees were unfairly in favor of Navruzov from the outset of the match.

It was the second controversial call of the day involving one of Navruzov’s matches. It appeared the action should have resulted in two points for Gomez or two for each wrestler.

Are you a fan of the emotion shown by the coaches? “They only supported the Uzbek”, Bayaraa said.

The appearance of officiating impropriety could do harm to a sport that is just three years removed from being briefly kicked off the Olympic program.

The Associated Press reported that the global federation had already removed three officials from the Olympics and suspended them after a similar situation prevented Puerto Rican wrestler Franklin Gomez from winning a match. “I think the situation is much better than we had before. Of course, we need time to cure all our diseases”, Lalovic said.