Vladimir Mestvirishvili, the Georgian coach who devoted his life to Indian wrestling and produced four Olympic medalists, passes away

Twice Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, bronze winners Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia, and Tokyo Games silver medallist Ravi Dahiya were all his products. Vladimir also coached World Championship medallists like Deepak Punia in his early years.

“Usne hamein ladna sikhaya (he taught us how to fight),” says Yogeshwar, the London Olympic bronze medallist. Bajrang, the Tokyo Games medal winner, adds: “Today, our standing in world wrestling is respectful because of him. He dedicated his life, at least the last two decades of his life, to Indian wrestling.”

In an Indian wrestling universe that isn’t for the faint-hearted, many coaches and many foreigners have come and gone, but Vladimir was a constant at the national camps in Haryana’s Nidani — in the early years — and Sonepat.

After the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) discontinued his contract following the Rio Olympics, citing his age and ‘archaic’ coaching methods, he moved to the iconic Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi, stayed in a rented apartment in the Model Town neighbourhood and continued producing champion wrestlers.

Vladimir, who lived here with his wife Mareya, was soft spoken and goofy. He’d ‘kill snakes that entered his room at the SAI Centre in Sonepat and marvel that the wrestlers in India practised celibacy. Slowly, though, he immersed himself in Indian, rather Haryanvi, culture. ‘Laado’ could converse in Haryanvi, spent time on the fields with the local farmers, and ate like them, with them. He also picked up the classic Indian jugaadu mindset. “In 2003, when he came, we didn’t have many facilities. So, he set up most things himself, from mats to ropes,” Yogeshwar says.

When India lacked quality mats to train on, Vladimir arranged them using his contacts. If those mats would not fit the floor size, the Georgian would be seen with tailoring equipment and fix it.

“I have seen how hard he worked. When I was drafted to the senior camp in 2012, he used to fix the mats himself if there were gaps. He cut them, adjusted and ensured the quality was good. He’d get ropes to displace them from the ceilings or trees, so that we could climb them to build core strength,” Bajrang says. “We must not forget that while these are all common things now, it wasn’t so 15 years ago. He taught us all of this. A coach will mostly be bothered about conducting training and the rest in his room. But not Laaado.”

Vladimir Mestvirishvili came to India as the national team coach in 2003. He went on to spend nearly two decades turning young, untested wrestlers like Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya into Olympic medallists.

Crucially, Vladimir, who had an acute mind for aggressive wrestling, taught a generation of Indian wrestlers — who were proficient in mud but amateur on the mat — ‘how to fight, how to win a point and also defend’. Largely power wrestlers, Vladimir taught the Indians technique. Not one or two, Yogeshwar says, but almost ‘everything from scratch’.

Bajrang says he didn’t dismiss the traditional mitti wrestling moves. Instead, he married them with the modern methods he’d picked up from his decades of experience in Eastern Europe and the rest of the world.

“I didn’t know how to wrestle on the mat because I spent my early years wrestling in mud. The transition was tough but he taught me all the moves,” says Bajrang.

His teaching style, too, was unique back then. Adds Bajrang, “He demonstrated every technique. After I joined the camp, he made me his partner to show all the moves. All the other wrestlers would sit around the mat in a circle, watch him pull off the moves on me and learn. And later, they would be asked to repeat.”

Very sad to hear of the passing away of legendary wrestling coach Vladimir Mershidivilli of Georgia. He coached Sushil, Yogeshwar, Bajrang, Ravi, Deepak & many other top 🇮🇳 wrestlers during their junior days. He was so dedicated & passionate. Everyone loved him. RIP Vlado ❤️🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/9dPTW48OSh

— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) June 23, 2025

Watching, learning and repeating was his mantra, Yogeshwar says. “Each daav would be repeated hundreds of times until he was satisfied that we had learnt it well,” the former wrestler adds.

“You won’t find many coaches like him these days. For him, coaching wasn’t just about teaching a few techniques or strategies, it went much beyond that. He massaged us during tournaments, even though we would say no, and treated us like his children.”

Despite his vast contribution, Vladimir was never given his due. Dozens of coaches walked away with Dronacharya awards and other accolades but the federation ignored him, saying that as a foreign coach, he was ‘paid more than the Indians’ anyway.

Not that Vladimir cared. He continued living the same simple life, living and breathing wrestling and quietly churning out champions.