Mongolian Wrestling Coaches Got So Heated About Their Wrestler Not Winning The Bronze That They Stripped Naked

It’s moments like these that I regret not trying harder to learn a second language in school. You get these wild stories about things going on in other countries, but nothing is in English so you can barely decipher anything. Just a classic case of quarter-life regret. Maybe if I had not cut so many classes to crush 40s in college I would be a little more worldly. My inability to successfully be bilingual aside, this story is absolutely bizarre. After the bronze medal match between Mongolia’s Mandakhnaran Ganzorig and Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov, everyone assumed that Ganzorig won. Well, he didn’t. And his coaches got pissed.

Via ESPN:

“In a display that would have made Vince McMahon proud, a pair of Mongolian wrestling coaches stripped off their clothing in a protest of a call by officials that gave the bronze medal to Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov on Sunday afternoon.

“This was a protest. There was a problem with the refereeing,” said Byambarenchin Bayarra, one of the Mongolian coaches. “The Mongolian wrestler won 7-6 and he lost because of this [judges’ decision]. This is the only time in history of wrestling with point penalty.”

With about seven seconds left in the match, Mongolia’s Mandakhnaran Ganzorig began running around the mat, waving his arms in front of Navruzov in celebration of his impending victory. When the final buzzer sounded, Ganzorig fell to the mat in celebration. His coaches covered him in the Mongolian flag. But officials penalized Ganzorig for his late-match antics, calling him for fleeing the hold by not engaging in the match’s final seconds. That made it 7-7. The Mongolians protested the call and lost, giving another point to Navruzov to make it an 8-7 final.

As Ganzorig rolled around the mat in frustration, one of his coaches stomped to the judges’ table and slammed his hands on the mat. Then he ripped his shirt off, flexed his muscles and roared, much to the delight of the crowd. From there, a second Mongolian coach came over, pulled his shirt off and then went one step further and dropped his pants. He picked up his pile of clothes and dumped them on the judges’ table.

At the same time, the Uzbekistan coaches brought out their own flag and draped it around Navruzov as Ganzorig sobbed. Both Mongolian coaches refused to leave the mat until they were escorted by the Brazilian National Public Security Force.

“The referees were not good,” Bayarra said. “They only supported the Uzbek. After the challenge for five seconds we win, and we are very happy for this medal.””

You can watch them actually stripping down and yelling here. Listen, a guy gets snubbed, people get pissed. I get it. But tearing off your clothes and throwing them at people is child’s play. Literally. Babies get naked when they’re mad. I understand getting a little hot under the collar and needing some air, but I also wish these guys understood that they do not have the bodies to be stripping in public. Maybe in the Red Light District they could find a chick with daddy issues to pay them for the evening, but not many other places. I mean, if you want to make an impression on someone, attack them with your fists. I’m not sure what soft clothing is going to do other than float lightly down onto your head and shoulders. It’s like trying to get information out of someone by beating them with cotton balls.

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