The second day of the ongoing World Wrestling Championships here witnessed a major faux pas when the wrong national anthem was played for Russian grappler Roman Vlasov
Los Angeles: The second day of the ongoing World Wrestling Championships here witnessed a major faux pas when the wrong national anthem was played for Russian grappler Roman Vlasov.
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Vlasov, a Greco-Roman wrestler, won gold in the 74kg category beating Mark Madsen of Denmark on Tuesday.
But atop the podium, he was greeted by Mikhail Glinka's 'Patrioticheskaya Pesnya' which was used as the Russian anthem in the 1990s before Vladimir Putin reinstated the current anthem at the turn of the millennium.
The organisers realised their mistake 49 seconds into the song and played the actual version after Vlasov refused to come down until he heard the correct anthem.
"I told the organisers I wouldn't budge till I heard the real Russian anthem," a livid Vlasov said.