Indian wrestling team’s foreign assistant coach expelled from Tokyo Olympics

Foreign coach Murad Gaidarov was, on Friday, expelled from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for assaulting the referee, who had officiated the bronze medal playoff between Deepak Punia and San Marino’s Myles Nzaim Amine. Gaidarov is also Deepak’s foreign coach.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cancelled Gaidarov’s accreditation after a hearing was held in the matter.

“Indian wrestling team’s foreign assistant coach Mr Murad Gaidarov who was involved in an uncalled incident of assault on one of the match referees, is being withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympic Village immediately and is being called back to India on the latest flight,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta tweeted.

Gaidarov has been guiding Deepak after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assigned him to train the 2018 junior world champion. Gaidarov, 42, had won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, representing Belarus.

He was disqualified from the 2004 Olympic Games when he assaulted his opponent outside the arena after losing his quarterfinal bout.

Earlier, Deepak came close to winning a bronze medal on his Olympic debut but conceded a take-down in the last 10 seconds of the 86kg play-off, missing out on achieving the feat.

Deepak’s defence was superb throughout the bout but the San Marino wrestler grabbed the decisive two-pointer after getting hold of the Indian’s right leg and converted it into a take-down in dying moments of the bout.

The 22-year-old Indian was leading 2-1 before that take-down but it was not meant to be his day.

Deepak made good use of a favourable draw to reach the semifinals but lost to the formidable American David Morris Taylor in the semifinals.

He earlier got past Nigeria’s Ekerekeme Agiomor, the African championship bronze medallist by technical superiority and then prevailed 6-3 over China’s Zushen Lin in the quarterfinal.

The other Indian wrestler in the fray, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, took home the silver medal and promised to come back stronger and get his hands on the elusive yellow metal.