Yogeshwar Dutt won’t get an Olympic silver after IOC drops doping case against late Russian wrestler

Yogeshwar Dutt’s chance to upgrade his 2012 London Olympics bronze medal to silver were finished, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to drop its doping investigation against late Russian wrestler Besik Kudokov.

According to a report by The Indian Express , the Russian Wrestling Federation’s first deputy president Georgy Bryusov confirmed the news, stating that the IOC would not deprive the late wrestler of his medal.

Kudokov, who won silver in the men’s 60kg freestyle category event, passed away in a car accident in Russia a year after the London Games.

“The International Olympic Committee will not deprive wrestler Besik Kudukhov of his silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London,” Bryusov, who is also the vice-president of the United World Wrestling (UWW), was quoted as saying.

Kudokhov’s samples from the London Games were re-tested this year, and were found positive for banned steroid turinabol. His case was then taken up by a three-member disciplinary commission setup by the Olympic governing body, comprising Switzerland’s Denis Oswald, Sweden’s Gunilla Lindberg and Turkey’s Ugur Erdener.

The committee however, decided to terminate the case on 19 October.

Dutt had earlier conveyed his wish for the silver medal to remain in the late wrestler’s name out of respect.

Besik Kudukhov शानदार पहलवान थे। उनका मृत्यु के पश्चात dope test में fail हो जाना दुखद हैं। मैं खिलाड़ी के रूप में उनका सम्मान करता हूँ।

— Yogeshwar Dutt (@DuttYogi) August 31, 2016

अगर हो सके तो ये मेडल उन्ही के पास रहने दिया जाए। उनके परिवार के लिए भी सम्मानपूर्ण होगा। मेरे लिए मानवीय संवेदना सर्वोपरि है।

— Yogeshwar Dutt (@DuttYogi) August 31, 2016

London bronze-medallist Dutt had failed to get past the qualification round at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 65kg freestyle category, losing to Mongolia’s Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran. His chances of going for a bronze in a repechage also came to an end as Ganzorigiin lost to Russia’s Soslan Ramonov in the quarterfinals.