Olympic silver medallist shot in Russia

Bakhtiyar Akhmedov was hospitalised with gunshot wounds on Sunday in the country`s troubled southern province of Dagestan.

Makhachkala (Russia): A Russian wrestler who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was hospitalised with gunshot wounds on Sunday in the country`s troubled southern province of Dagestan.

Bakhtiyar Akhmedov, who lost the final of the 120kg division to Artur Taymazov in Beijing, was shot in the stomach and taken to a clinic in the capital Makhachkala, his coach said. "The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated," Imammurza Aliev said. Local police told RIA Novosti only that a man by the name of Bakhtiyar had been admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds. There were no other details. Gun violence in Dagestan is common. The province is Russia`s poorest and suffers from an illusive Islamist insurgency that spilled over after two wars in nearby Chechnya. IANS