NEW DELHI: Wrestler
Yogeshwar Dutt's bronze medal from the London Olympics being upgraded to silver after
Besik Kudukhov
of Russia, who had originally won the silver medal in 2012, was found positive for dope test came as good news for India and the Sonipat-born grappler. The news was confirmed by Yogeshwar
via twitter two days back, but on Wednesday, the 33-year-old tweeted that he wants the medal to be with Kudukhov’s family.
After winning the medal in London, Kudukhov, a four-time world champion and two-time Olympic medallist, had died in a car crash in 2013 in southern Russia. Kudukhov’s samples from those games were retested and were found positive for a banned substance. Subsequently, the decision to strip him off his medal was taken, which meant Yogeshwar’s bronze in men's 60kg freestyle category would have been upgraded to silver.
However, Yogeshwar, via twitter stated that he would like to see Kudukhov’s family keep the medal as it would be respectful for them. He went on to say that human compassion is paramount for him.
Yogeshwar remembered Kudukhov as a fantastic wrestler and as a player he has utmost respect for the late Russian. Yogeshwar added that he is saddened to see Kudukhov’s sample being tested positive after his death.
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