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Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Don’t worry. It wakes me up’ – German Olympian Defends Coach after Outrage over Controversial Face Slap Before match in Olympics 2020

TOKYO: In a bizarre event in Tokyo Olympics 2020, German judo athlete Martyna Trajdos has gone viral after her coach can be seen slapping her face besides shaking her in the guise of charging her up before the game.

The clip, which many find disturbing, shows coach Claudiu Pusa who grabbed the 32-year-old athlete from her shoulders and moved her body rapidly before slapping her twice across the face moments before her match.

The European champion in 2015 then nodded and continued towards the mat for her fight and was later defeated by opponent Szofi Özbas. The result eliminated her from the biggest sports competition but the harrowing clip, which she termed pre-match ritual, was captured and draws an outcry on social media.

Despite the public anger, Trajdos defended the coach saying the slaps were not ‘strong’ enough. “I wish I could have made a different headline today. As I already said that’s the ritual which I chose pre-competition! My coach is just doing what I want him to do to fire me up!” the athlete captioned the post while defending the coach who lands in trouble.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CR1VL4nqyy6/

Soon after the event garnered international attention, Judo’s governing body also issued a warning for coach Claudiu Pusa. The governing body expressed serious warnings over his ‘appalling behavior’.

“The unarmed combat, Judo is an educational sport and as such behavior cannot be tolerated,” a tweet of the International Judo Federation reads.

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