Mongolian Wrestling Coaches Strip Down in Public Protest at Rio Olympics

Coaches for Mongolia's Mandakhnaran Ganzori, at right, strip in protest after a loss to Uzbekistan's Ikhtiyor Navruzov during the men's 65-kg freestyle bronze medal wrestling match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jack Phillips

Jack Phillips

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Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5

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August 21, 2016Updated: August 21, 2016

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Two Mongolian wrestling coaches have taken off their clothing, one all the way down his underwear, to protest the result of a bronze medal match.

Uzbekisatn’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov appeared to have lost to Mandakhnaran Ganzorig 7-6 at 65 kilograms on Sunday, The Associated Press reported.

Uzbekistan challenged the scoring, likely because the Mongolian began running around in celebration with less than 10 seconds left rather than engaging with Navruzov. Navruzov won his challenge and the match on criteria as the last wrestler to score.

Ganzorig, who had already started celebrating, fell to his knees in disappointment.

Mongolian wrestling coaches strip in protest of loss https://t.co/HKWGsGTCN9 pic.twitter.com/NTtAonmxZs

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 21, 2016

Mongolian wrestling coaches stripped after wrestler lost a medal for celebrating too early https://t.co/3hkZQto15J pic.twitter.com/Yfdr6IEeC7

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 21, 2016

Mongolia wrestling coaches strip off clothes in protest of official’s decision at Rio Games pic.twitter.com/2XAeY2SVQ8

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 21, 2016

What if you disagree with the judges?

If you’re a Mongolian wrestling coach, you strip…https://t.co/89cCGARbfh pic.twitter.com/2HL7Fvl5GC

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 21, 2016

The Mongolian coaches went much further than that. Assistant coach Byambarenchin Bayoraa took his shoes and shirt off and threw them to the mat in disgust in front of the officials.

Tsenrenbataar Tsostbayar stripped all the way down to his blue briefs, as the Brazilian crowd then started chanting “Mongolia! Mongolia!”

Both coaches screamed at the scorers for a replay.

“The referees are no good,” said Byambarenchin Bayoraa via 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.” Bayoraa also took off his clothing.

“All of the stadium was behind us,” Bayoraa added. “One hundred percent for Mongolia.”

Security officials were brought in and were able to escort the two out of the venue.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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