Woller Akos is a Hungarian wrestling coach who has been training Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat since 2018, find out more about him below along with his wife and country
The Hungarian coach has played a major role in Phogat’s success over the past few years, helping her improve in different aspects.
Who is Woller Akos wrestlimg coach of wrestler Vinesh Phogat, bio, family, wife, country and salary
Akos recently played a major role in making adjustments to Phogat’s technique which helped her win gold at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.
Woller Akos bio
Woller Akos is a Hungarian wrestling coach who currently trains Indian wrestling coach Vinesh Phogat. Akos currently serves as a coach at Vasas Sports Club in Budapest, Hungary. Prior to the current 2024 Olympics, the Hungarian coach has had two successful stints with Phogat. Akos first worked with Phogat for six weeks ahead of the 2018 Asian Games where Phogat won a gold. He then returned in 2019 to train till the Tokyo Olympics, helping Phogat win her first World Championships medal.
His salary as Vinesh’s coach isn’t known yet.
Wife and marriage
Akos is married to Hungarian female wrestler Marianna Sastin. Sastin wrestled competitively with Csepeli BC and competed in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2012 London Olympics. Notably, Woller Akos also guided his own wife to a World Championship gold medal back in 2011. The couple have two children together.
Controversy
Despite his contributions, Woller Akos was at the centre of controversy in 2021 following Phogat’s disappointing performance at the Tokyo Olympics. Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh came out to blame Akos’ training methods for the disappointment. Singh accused Akos of prioritising training his wife, Marianna Sastin, over Vinesh during their training camp.
The accusations caused several layers of complexities in the wrestling world in India. While Phogat had to ponder on her own failure, her training regimen also sparked controversy and raised several questions. Several officials raised questions about involving foreign coaches in Indian sports.
Despite all these controversies and accusations, Woller Akos and Vinesh Phogat has now proved them all wrong. Phogat did so after becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final of the Olympic Games. She secured the final berth with a triumphant 5-0 win over Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez on Tuesday.
Vinesh Phogat under Woller Akos
Akos first began training Vinesh in 2018 ahead of the 2018 Asian Games. Vinesh went to a training camp in Hungary where Akos ironed out the minor glitches in her game. The Hungarian coach mainly helped Vinesh to improve on her mental approach and concentration levels. Vinesh made good of her training and eventually won a gold in the competition.
Following a disappointing Tokyo Olympics run, where Vinesh failed to deliver a medal win, Woller Akos returned for the third time to train her. Vinesh had a problem facing fast attacks since she fights in the lower weight categories. As a result, Akos focussed on improving that this time around and made a few tweaks in her technique. Following the changes, she went on to win gold in the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.
And now, the pair did it again as Phogat became the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic wrestling final. Following the semi-final match, the pair had a wholesome moment as Woller Akos broke down in tears at the achievement. Phogat will now face American wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt in the final event.