E-Paper
Russian police halt wrestling brawl over Rio 2016 spot
MOSCOW: Russian riot police had to be sent into the wrestling ring Friday when a scuffle erupted after a championship bout.
MOSCOW: Russian riot police had to be sent into the wrestling ring Friday when a scuffle erupted after a championship bout.
Viktor Lebedev of Russia’s northern region of Yakutia beat Ismail Musukayev of Dagestan in an under-57 kilogram semifinal Friday at the competition that decides who represents Russia at the Rio Olympics this summer. The championship was held in Yakutsk, the province’s capital.
Russian state television showed that Musukayev pushed the Yakut wrestler as soon as the bell rang, then his coaches and supporters poured onto the ring and started a scuffle with Lebedev. Several minutes later, riot police were sent in to stop the fight.
Musukayev told the Tass news agency there was no scuffle, he was only reacting to what he thought was bad refereeing.
“I did push Lebedev, yes,” he said. “He was silent when people next to us were lying. I felt so bad. It was as if he had really won that fight.”
Wrestling is a source of great pride in Dagestan, a province in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus otherwise known for its Islamic insurgency. Many Dagestani wrestlers have won Olympic gold for Russia and the Soviet Union.
