The United World Wrestling (UWW) on Tuesday quashed all speculation about star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt’s bronze at the 2012 Olympics turning into gold by announcing that gold medallist Togrul Asgarov of Azerbaijan has not tested positive for banned substances.
“Contrary to news reports, 2012 Olympic gold medallist Togrul Asgarov has never been in violation of UWW’s anti-doping policy,” UWW, the governing body of world wrestling, confirmed on Twitter.
Yogeshwar had originally taken bronze in the men’s 60kg freestyle category at the London Olympics in 2012 defeating Ri Jong-Myong of North Korea in the play-off.
The 34-year-old had been defeated by Russian Besik Kudukhov in the pre-quarterfinals at the 2012 Games. Kudukov went on to bag the silver after losing to Asgarov in the final.
However, Kudukov, who died in a car crash in southern Russia in 2013, was recently found to have used a banned substance during a retest of samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics conducted by the World Anti Doping Agency, which means the Indian’s bronze medal is expected to be upgraded to silver.
