Wrestling Federation Fires Women’s Coach For Non-Participation In Online Classes

New Delhi: The contract of national women’s wrestling coach Andrew Cook has been terminated after he refused to participate in online classes conducted by Sports Authority of India (SAI) during coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Cook had joined in 2019 to help the female wrestlers prepare for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics next year. He had flown home to the US in March when the national camp in Lucknow was called off due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had been contemplating ending Cook’s services after the pandemic put a question mark on the national camp.

Cook’s refusal to coordinate with SAI’s online classes on the grounds that his dues hadn’t been cleared since March helped WFI finalise its decision, reports Hindustan Times.

“In this time of economic meltdown due to global pandemic, we couldn’t justify his salary as he wasn’t regular in attending online classes run by SAI,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said in a statement, claiming that Cook’s dues till May have been cleared.