Yogeshwar Dutt to return Olympic medal if wrestling is not included in Olympics

25 February, 2013

An Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is ready to return his Olympic medal to register his protest against the removal of wrestling from Olympic sports. Dutt had won a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics. He is the second wrestler who has taken this decision after Valentin Yordanov from Bulgaria said he will return his 1996 Olympics medal to the International Olympic Committee.

In this NNIS video, Dutt asked, “What will I do with the medal, if wrestling is not included in the Olympics?” Wrestling Federations across the world are disappointed with the removal of one of the oldest Olympic sports from the 2020 Olympics. Raphael Martinetti, President of the International Wrestling Federation also quit due to the stance taken by the IOC.

Dutt is aware of the consequences if the sport is no longer an Olympic sport, especially for India. Wrestling is expected to be a major sport for India in the future Olympics to secure an Olympic medal. In recent times, Indian wrestlers have been performing very well at the Olympics. Sushil Kumar won an Olympic medal in both the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Games.

The IOC is also under tremendous pressure to bring back the sport in the main fold, as the final decision rests with it. Among a list of eight sports which include Wrestling, Baseball and Softball, Karate, Squash, Roller sports, Sport climbing, Wakeboarding and Wushu, only one is going to make it to the 2020 Olympics. The IOC executive board is going to take the final call in September 2013.