Baku: The National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan (NOC) has formally reached out to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) concerning the quality degradation of medals awarded at the Paris Olympics. According to APA, the NOC’s press service released a statement confirming the appeal.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, seven athletes from Azerbaijan’s Olympic team secured medals in various sports, including judo, taekwondo, boxing, and both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, during the XXXIII Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The medal tally included two gold, two silver, and three bronze medals. The athletes, who triumphed in Paris, reported the deterioration of their medals to the National Olympic Committee earlier this month.
Following the athletes’ concerns, the National Olympic Committee launched an investigation which revealed significant changes in the medals of five athletes. The medals affected included the gold medal of judo champion Zelim Kotsoyev (100 kg), silver medals of taekwondo fighter Gashim Magomedov (58 kg) and boxer Alfonso Dominguez (92 kg), as well as bronze medals of Greco-Roman wrestler Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg) and freestyle wrestler Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125 kg). Notably, the medals of Olympic judo champion Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) and freestyle wrestling bronze medalist Magomedkhan Magomedov (97 kg) remained unchanged.
In light of these findings, the National Olympic Committee has submitted an official appeal to the International Olympic Committee. The committee awaits a response from the IOC to initiate the process of returning and replacing the affected medals.