Naidan Tüvshinbayar, Mongolian Olympian, gets 16 years for murder
Mongolian Olympic gold and silver medalist Naidan Tüvshinbayar has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for murder stemming from an incident in April of 2021. Tüvshinbayar won gold in the 2008 Olympic Games and silver in 2012 in judo.
Tüvshinbayar was under the influence of alcohol and attacked Erdenebileg Enkhbat, a fellow judoka, with a heavy object that left Enkhbat hospitalized with brain injuries that he eventually succumbed to.
The trial was a year-long affair and the nation of Mongolia was heavily in tuned with the entire process.
When he was arrested, Naidan Tüvshinbayar was the president of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee and resigned after being jailed.
Naidan Tüvshinbayar Falling From Grace
The multi-Olympic medalist was riding a great career in the Mongolian sports world and in politics. Unfortunately he attacked Enkhbat and hospitalized him in April, who was also a childhood friend of Naidan Tüvshinbayar. He was originally arrested for assault with Enkhbat barely surviving. Enkhbat passed in December of 2021 and new charges were brought up against Naidan Tüvshinbayar with his passing.
Tüvshinbayar had a restraining order placed against him after the initial assault that remained in place until after Enkhbat passed in December.
Naidan Tüvshinbayar was elected the president of the MNOC in 2020 before the incident occurred. In 2008 he won gold in judo at the Beijing Olympics and repeated his performance in 2012 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and brought home the silver medal.
It’s sad to see things like this happen in the martial arts community. Enkhbat was a medalist at the World level and had a bright future ahead of him. The senseless loss of a life is always tragic and we send thoughts and prayers to his family.
Stay posted to My MMA News for all the latest news surrounding Olympic judo. Thanks for reading!
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In addition to covering Olympic Judo for My MMA News, Blaine Henry, the author, also analyzes fights from all combat sports across the globe.
Blaine Henry can be found on Twitter, on his podcast, and Discord.
