Seven months after application, WFI gets approved to appoint three foreign coaches
Sports Authority of India has approved the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) request to appoint three foreign coaches, seven months after the request was made. Temo Kazarashvili of Georgia, who was chosen as one of the prospects, had been suspended for favouritism as a judge at the Rio Games.
Along with Temo Kazarashvili, Hossein Karimi of Iran and Andrew Cook of USA have been appointed as coaches for the men's freestyle and women's freestyle respectively. SAI has given its consent about seven months after the request was initially made.
“We have been in talks with SAI and held meetings and it is finally done. The final letter will be sent to the three coaches from our side. But as of now, they all have agreed to join the Indian teams,” WFI Assistant Secretary Vinod Tomar told Scroll.in.
However, Kazarashvili has been involved in a controversy, during the 2016 Rio Games. In the 65 kg category match between Ikhtyor Nuvruzov of Uzbekistan and Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico, Kazarashvili had been suspended for favouring the Uzbekistan player as the judge of the match.
Currently, Kazarashvili is working as a referee for the United World Wrestling. He also officiated at the Junior European Championships in Rome. On the other hand, Cook works for the USA’s U-23 team, as they will go ahead to participate in the World Championships this year. He has consented to leave his job to work for the Indian team. Karimi had been an assistant coach for Iran's team, during Rio Olympics and has been associated with the junior team.
“I am truly honoured to be selected for this opportunity and I thank the country of India for accepting me with open arms. I am excited to get busy with this exceptional group of athletes. Thanks to the Indian federation as well,” Cook said.
SAI will pay the coaches monthly with a salary of US$ 3500 for Karimi, US$ 4000 for Kazarashvili and US$ 4500 for Andrew Cook. WFI informed that official emails have been sent to all the coaches, but it would be difficult for them to join the team before the World Championships, which starts on October 20.
Currently, Jagmender Singh is the freestyle coach of Indian team, while Kuldeep Malik serves as the women's freestyle coach. Kuldeep Singh is the Greco Roman coach for the national side.