Olympian Tynybekova found guilty of assault

A teenage wrestler who represented Kyrgyzstan at the 2012 London Olympics while on bail has been put on probation for two years after a court in the Central Asian republic found her guilty of assault. Judge Kanybek Omurkanov said on Thursday that Aisuluu Tynybekova, 19, must report to the police every three months for the duration of her sentence.

Her friend and co-accused, Rozaliya Tilegenova, was given a one-year suspended sentence. Tynybekova was Kyrgyzstan's biggest hope for their first Olympic gold and received special dispensation from the court to travel to London but was eliminated from the 63kg freestyle category in the last 16.

The economics student had earlier been charged with assaulting a teenage girl during a fracas at an ice cream stall in the capital Bishkek. Nurbek Izabekov, Tynybekova's coach, said the case had affected her preparations for the Games. "Instead of training she had to go to court," Izabekov told Reuters by telephone. "Aisuluu lost 4kg and for an athlete every kilo counts - it also affected her morale."

(Writing by Robin Paxton; editing by Tony Jimenez)