As Coronavirus causes mass hysteria globally, foreign wrestling coaches who are working India decided to return home. Temo Kazarshili (Greco team coach), Andrew Cook (Women’s team coach), Murad Gaidarov (Deepak Punia and Ravi Dahiya’s coach) and Kamal Mallikov (Sushil Kumar’s coach) decided to fly back home in the wake of the global pandemic.
Cook returned home on Tuesday night as he was worried about his family’s well-being. The USA coach hails from Washington state which is worst-hit by the deadly virus. Also, since the women national camp at Lucknow was shut, he did not wish to be alone at the hostel.
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“It’s a big situation worldwide and I stay alone in an empty hostel as all the athletes have returned home. Also, after analysing the situation, I believe it is time to be with my family until camp resumes,” Cook told WrestlingTV from Tokyo from where he was to fly to the USA.
He was also worried about his father who suffers from a lung ailment and was most at risk as COVID-19 is known for affecting people with a respiratory problem the most.
“My father is at risk from this virus with a compromised immune system at the age of 81 and has to go back home,” he said.
Temo, on the other hand, left for Georgia directly from Azerbaijan. He was attending the national camp with Indian Greco team which included six Olympic weight wrestlers –Gyanendra (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Hardeep (97kg) and Naveen (130kg) – but had returned home after their trip was cut short due to new travel advisories by Azerbaijan government.
Shako Bentinidis, however, is still in India. He has not yet gone back but can fly to Georgia if things worsen.
“Situation at Georgia is serious. There is a complete lockdown there. My wife is worried about my health and calls me every day and asks me to wear masks”.
“For now, I am here in India. I will monitor the situation and then decide in two to three weeks- time”. he added
