The coach of the Soviet national weightlifting...
The coach of the Soviet national weightlifting team was ousted, one month after a world champion on the team defected to Turkey.
The official news agency Tass said the executive committee of the Soviet Weightlifting Federation voted, 27-2, to replace Alexi Medvedev, 62, who was blamed for poor team discipline.
Hafiz Suleymanov, a 22-year-old champion in the 123-pound category, asked for political asylum at the Turkish embassy in Athens, Greece, site of the world weightlifting championships.
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