WFI vs Wrestlers | Bajrang Punia's former coach Shako Bentinidis slams WFI, calls members 'non-professionals'
(Twitter)
Indian wrestlers protesting against the WFI president, Brij Bhushan Singh, have received a lot of support not just from the fans of the sport, but from outside the country as well. Shako Bentinidis, the former coach of Bajrang Punia, has come out in support of the latter and slammed WFI president.
Shako, who was Bajrang's coach during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, took to social media to express his view. In a strongly worded post, he went on to talk about how badly the wrestlers and coaches were treated by the WFI. The Georgian was unceremoniously sacked in November 2021, despite getting a medal for the country.
He wrote, "I would like to express my support to all the members of the Indian wrestling team and all the wrestling fans. All members of the Federation should leave immediately. I have been serving this beautiful sport for 35 years, but I have never had contact with such non-professionals. They put me in hell for what is called 4 years. There is no point in telling all the details here, I will just say that they showed disrespect to everyone.
"For four years, I was accredited only for the Olympic Games, and with the help of the Olympic Committee and my athlete, they lied to me every time. Your last name was given and you should have taken it when you arrived, but you were even on the list (it's just funny).
"I always tried to lead with my program so that we would have results, so that the whole world could see our strength and unity. They demotivated me to continue my successful career. I can imagine how many athletes have given up on wrestling. Most of the wrestlers all over India are not going hungry and all the conditions are there to help these talented wrestlers.
"I would like to say a few words of thanks to the two biggest companies that played the biggest role (not the federation) but these sponsors JSW sport and Olympic Gold Quest. Sportsmen, If it were not for the above-mentioned sponsors (JSW-OGQ), the country would not have so many medals. The federation should be immediately cleaned of these illegal people so that a person who loves this sport like his own family comes to the head.
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