An Olympic champion sent to prison

Dirty business. Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar, the first Olympic gold medalist in Mongolian history, has been sentenced by his country’s courts to spend the next 16 years of his life in prison. The former judoka, titled at the Beijing Games in 2008, then silver medalist four years later in London, was found guilty by the court of Ulaanbaatar of the murder of his childhood friend. The facts date back to April 2021. Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar attacked Erdenebilegiin Enkhbat, a local wrestling star, during a fight after a very drunken meal. Transported to the hospital, the victim never regained consciousness and ended up succumbing to his injuries. Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar was initially sentenced to 20 days in prison, but new charges were filed following the death of the former wrestler. After his career as a judoka, Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar was elected president of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee. A true star in his country, he got into politics for a while, took part in talk shows and multiplied advertising campaigns in Mongolia.