Bajrang splits with coach Shako Bentinidis, may tie up with Andriy Stadnik

Under
the
guidance
of
Bentinidis,
the
27-year-old
Bajrang
won
an
Olympic
bronze
medal
in
Tokyo,
2018
Asian
Games
gold
and
a
bronze
medal
at
the
2019
world
championship.
However,
there
has
not
been
much
improvement
on
his
perennial
weak
leg
defence.
“Yes,
I
am
looking
for
a
new
coach
for
the
new
Olympic
cycle,”
Bajrang
told
PTI.

“There
is
nothing
wrong
with
Shako,
I
learnt
a
lot
from
him
but
a
new
coach
can
be
tried
for
better
results,”
he
said.

However,
according
to
Wrestling
Federation
of
India
(WFI)
sources,
Bajrang
was,
of
late,
not
happy
with
the
way
Bentinidis
carried
out
his
job.
“We
have
learnt
that
Shako
did
not
attend
to
him
properly
when
he
suffered
an
injury
in
Russia
before
the
Tokyo
Olympics.
So
a
change
was
expected,”
said
the
source.

Stadnik
is
the
husband
of
Maria,
a
four-time
Olympic
medallist
and
two-time
world
champion.
It
has
been
learnt
that
Bajrang
has
approached
Stadnik
and
he
is
also
keen
to
work
with
the
elite
Indian
athlete.

“Andriy
is
in
running
for
the
Ukrainian
Federation
elections.
If
he
wins,
then
it
will
be
tough
for
him
to
tie
up
with
Bajrang.
Let’s
see,”
said
a
source.

WFI
may
also
replace
Russian
coach
Kamal
Malikov,
attached
with
Ravi
Dahiya,
the
Tokyo
Games
silver
medallist.