Oz wrestler’s action unfortunate, unacceptable, says nation’s sports minister

NEW DELHI - Australia’s Sports Minister Mark Arib on Wednesday termed the obscene gesture made by wrestler Hassene Fkiri as unfortunate and unacceptable.

Interacting with reporters at the Australian High Commission here, Arib said: ” That was an unfortunate action by the wrestler. We, as a country, Australia and India, are fierce competitors not only on the cricket pitch, but also at the Commonwealth Games. But this kind of behavior is unacceptable from Australia point of view.”

Arib also informed reporters that the Commonwealth Association of Australia has decided to take disciplinary action against Fkiri.

The Australian Wrestling Association has reportedly taken away Fkiri’s silver medal and the disgraced wrestler has been asked to coach for the remaining part of the games.

According to The Australian, Fkiri, who represented Tunisia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics before migrating to Australia, was stripped of his silver medal in the 96-kilogram division after he made an obscene gesture to the judges on losing a fractious gold medal match against Indian Anil Kumar.

Allegedly, the 36-year-old also head-butted his opponent twice during the contest and refused to shake hands at the end. He also head-butted his semi-final rival.

Australia’s Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti admitted it would have been easy to expel Fkiri from the Games Village and send him packing to Australia in disgrace, but that was not a stain he wanted the father of a new baby daughter to have for the rest of his life.

Minister Abib also praised the Indian authorities for the preparations of the Games, the security and especially the Games Village, which prior to the opening of the event on October 3, drew a lot of flak for poor hygiene.

He said: “I am very happy with the preparations, with the facilities, in particular, the food. There has been some minor issues, but overall, the facilities are very good”.

“Security is very comprehensive. We appreciate that from an Australian perspective. The primary focus is of safety and the security of our athletes, our spectators. I visited many venues long ball, boxing. It is one of the better facilities worldwide,” Abib added.

When asked whether India is fit to organize the Olympics, Arib said: “It is a question to be put to the IOC and the Australian Government. I am no one to make judgment. But certainly, India is working very hard, our Commonwealth Games Association, Indian authorities particularly, the chief minister is doing a great deal in New Delhi.”

Arib was speaking after launching the Australian Sports Outreach program, an Australian Government initiative implemented by the Australian Sports Commission, which has pledged five million dollars for grassroots sport-based development in India.

He also downplayed negative Australian media reports that slammed the Indian authorities on issues of poor security, games-related corruption and inefficiency.

Arib said: “There has been a great deal of interest in the media regarding games preparation. Globally, there were some issues and the Indian authorities, particularly the chief minister and the police have worked very hard over the past fortnight to ensure that they were fixed.”

“The media hype over any big event is not unusual. I come from Sydney. Just before the Olympics, there was talk about the Sydney Olympics being a disaster, there was going to be traffic chaos, gridlock. But everyone knows, Sydney was the best Olympics ever.

We acknowledge the efforts made by the Indian authorities. The games are underway. India is doing well in terms of the medals tally. So, you all should be happy,” he added. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)