Two Mongolian wrestling coaches stripped down to their underwear on Sunday to protest an official's decision to award the Olympic bronze medal to their athlete's opponent.
Mongolian Mandakhnaran Ganzorig, who appeared to have beat Uzbekistan's Ikhtoyor Navruzov 7-6, celebrated at the end of the match, when another point appeared, giving Navruzov the win, The Washington Post reported. The winning point apparently was a penalty for Ganzorig's leaving the match in celebration in the final seconds.
Mongolian coach Byambarenchin Bayaraa approached the scorer's table and took off his shirt and shoes and slammed them to the floor, while fellow coach Tsenrenbataar Tsostbayar followed suit, also removing his pants in protest while both men pleaded unsuccessfully for a replay.
The Brazilian National forces removed the two coaches after they refused to leave the mat as the crowd chanted "Mongolia! Mongolia!"
“The referees are no good,” Bayaraa said through a translator, according to USA Today. “There are 3 million Mongolian people, all waiting for a bronze medal. And now? No medal. Only (a few) Mongolian athletes come here.”
The questionable call came after Uzbekistan challenged the scoring, claiming that the Mongolian was fleeing the final 10 seconds of the match in a premature celebration, The Associated Press reported.
The controversial incident followed the dismissal of three officials after a questionable late call during Navruzov's quarterfinal match. The three officials — Tong-Kun Chung of South Korea, Temo Kazarashvili of Georgia and Sergei Novakoskiy of Russia — face further investigation and possible sanctions, the AP said.
Twitter users reacted to the bizarre scene.
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