Mongolian wrestling coaches strip to protest controversial bronze-medal match defeat
RIO DE JANEIRO — The crowd inside Carioca Arena 2 chanted, “Mon-go-lia!” as two wrestling coaches refused to the leave the mat, one shirtless and one stripped to his underwear.
Early Sunday afternoon, one of the most bizarre and controversial episodes in amateur wrestling memory unfolded at the end of a 65-kilogram bronze-medal match. It began with a shady call that further raised questions about fairness in Olympic wrestling officiating. It ended with Forca Nacional officials escorting two shirtless Mongolian coaches from mat following a spontaneous strip show.
At the end of the bronze-medal match between Mongolian Mandakhnaran Ganzorig and Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov, Ganzorig appeared to have won, 7-6. He hugged his coaches and celebrated for about 10 seconds. Suddenly, apparently because Ganzorig had been docked a point for fleeing in the waning seconds, another point appeared on the board for Navruzov. In wrestling, the competitor who scores the final point of a tie match is the winner, so in a flash, Ganzorig went from victory to defeat.
Ganzorig fell to the mat and rolled inconsolably. Navruzov leaped into his coaches arms, and the coach body slammed him in celebration.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...eat/?tid=sm_fb
When the world comes together, these things happen.