Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is not keen to collect the upgraded silver medal from 2012 London Olympics on humanitarian grounds given that the original second place finisher’s positive dope test came after his death.
(Besik Kudukhov was a great wrestler. It is sad to hear about him failing the dope test post his demise. As an athlete, I pay my respect to him.)
(Let his (Besik Kudukhov) family keep the London silver medal. It will be respectful for them. For me human compassion is paramount.)
The four-time world champion and two-time Olympic medallist Besik Kudukhov, who had died in a car crash in 2013 in southern Russia, failed a World Anti-Doping Agency dope test conducted on his sample from 2012 before the Rio Games.
As a result, Yogeshwar, who had bagged a bronze medal in men’s 60kg freestyle category in London Games, joined Sushil Kumar as the other silver-medallist wrestler from the 2012 London Games. Yogeshwar, who had bowed out in the first round of men’s 65kg freestyle at the recently concluded Rio Olympic Games, had lost to Kudukhov in the pre-quarterfinals at London.
But once the Russian advanced to the final, Yogeshwar got another chance in the repechage round and went on to win a bronze. The 33-year-old wrestler would be handed a silver medal after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) gets the confirmation in writing from the World body (UWW).
(This morning I came to know that my Olympic bronze medal has been upgraded to silver. I dedicate this medal to my countrymen.)
Yogeshwar, after getting the news of his medal upgradation on Tuesday, had dedicated his silver to the country.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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