CHENNAI: Former Russian wrestler Anatoly Beloglazov, the 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medallist in the 52kg weight category, looks set to take over as foreign coach of the Indian men's freestyle unit. The three-time World Championships gold medallist is the strongest contender for the post among the applicants who have submitted their CVs to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
The WFI, had on September 30, invited applications for the post of foreign coaches in all three styles — men's freestyle and Greco-Roman and women's wrestling. The last date for submission of the applications was November 15. It is understood that most of the applicants showed interest in men's freestyle coaching. The applicants are said to be from Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Russia.
The invitation said that the engagement of these foreign coaches is aimed at the preparation of the national teams for the 2026 Asian Games. The contract, however, could be extended with mutual agreement keeping the performance of coaches in mind till the 2028 Los Angeles Games, read the invitation letter.
Anatoly and his more famous twin brother Sergey, who won Olympic gold twice (1980 and 1984), have a freestyle wrestling tournament in their name which is held annually in Kaliningrad, Russia. Both of them were also inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame after their playing careers.
Anatoly has coached a lot of national teams in the past including Russia, Australia, China, Belarus and Canada. During his tenure as the head coach, he helped wrestlers from these nations win medals at various international events including Olympics. "Anatoly's CV looks the most impressive. The WFI had a talk with him. The only issue that is delaying the appointment is the salary he is expecting. He is expecting US$10,000 per month but the federation is trying to negotiate. If he agrees, then his appointment is almost certain," a WFI source in the know of things told this daily.
The WFI has apprised the Sports Authority of India (SAI) through the ACTC (annual calendar for training and competition) about the applications it received from foreign coaches. Once a decision is made, the SAI will have a video interview before finalising terms and conditions of the contract. The federation, however, has not yet finalised a candidate in the Greco-Roman style. "Candidatures have been received but most of them are not strong enough," said the source.
American Cook seeks return
Interestingly, former India women's team coach Andrew Cook has also shown interest to re-join. Cook was hired in 2018 on a monthly salary of US$ 4,500 but his contract was terminated three months before deadline in June 2020. The federation had said then that the American coach didn't take part in the SAI's online classes as was instructed which had led to his ouster. Cook had denied the allegations and said he only changed the topic for online classes.
Going by his history with the federation and current preference of the national governing body of the sport, Cook could find it difficult to land a job this time. It was learnt that the WFI has decided to wait for some time before arriving at a final decision in this regard. "The WFI will organise the Pro Wrestling League in January. A lot of foreign wrestlers participate with their personal coaches in the competition. That can be a good opportunity to find the best candidate for women wrestlers," said the source.
With the Asian Games slated next year and Olympics also scheduled in 2028, the WFI has to finalise candidates for the three styles soon if they wish to keep their record intact in these multi-sport events.
