Video: Scots wrestler grateful for Scots asylum
VIOREL “Vio” Etko claimed Scotland’s first Commonwealth Games wrestling medal and said that it was “the least I could do” after being welcomed to Scotland 16 years ago.
Born in Moldova, Etko came to Britain seeking asylum in 1994 and has become a popular figure in Scottish wrestling, as a competitor and coach based in Aberdeenshire. After finishing fifth in the Delhi Games he retired from the sport to concentrate on coaching, but was persuaded to return for Glasgow 2014 and tells the Scotsman he felt he had to do it to provide inspiration for a new generation of Scottish wrestlers.
He was followed in claiming bronze by Ukrainian-born Scot Alex Gladkov, whose father also coaches, and after being swept to victory by the Scottish crowd - he suffered a bloodied face and recurrence of a knee injury - Alex dedicated the win to his grandfather who was recently forced to flee the civil war in Ukraine.