BEIJING, Aug 16: Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian was on Saturday stripped of the Olympic bronze medal he won and then dumped in a Beijing podium protest, an official said.

The Swede, who won silver in the Athens Olympics four years ago, grudgingly climbed the podium after finishing third in the 84kg class here on Thursday.

But he left the medal at the centre of the competition mat before stalking off the stage with a raised clenched right fist.

Abrahamian thought he had beaten Andrea Minguzzi, the eventual gold medallist, in the semi-finals, but the match was awarded to the Italian.

On Saturday, the IOC disqualified him but decided against awarding the medal to France’s Francais Melonin Noumonvi who had lost to the Swede in the bronze medal match.

“Mr Ara Abrahamian has been disqualified from the event of men’s greco-roman, 84 kg. The athlete placed behind Mr Abraham shall not be promoted to third place,” said a statement.—AFP