Coaches for Mongolia's Mandakhnaran Ganzori (right) strip in protest after a loss to Uzbekistan' s Ikhtiyor Navruzov during the men's 65-kg freestyle bronze medal wrestling match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

ULAN BATOR, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's Professional Freestyle Wrestlers Association said Wednesday that it will award a "gold medal" to a freestyle wrestler who lost in a match at the Rio Olympic games.

The association said they are raising funds to award a "gold medal" to Mandakhnaran Ganzorig, who lost to Uzbekistan's Ikhtiyor Navruzov in the 65kg freestyle bronze medal match last weekend.

In the match, Mandakhnaran started to celebrate prematurely in front of his opponent and stopped wrestling in the last few seconds of the match. As a result, Mandakhnaran was deducted points as a penalty and the Uzbek wrestler was given the victory by the judges.

Mandakhnaran's coaches considered the decision unfair and protested by stripping off their clothes in front of the judges. The protest was widely aired and discussed by international media.

In Mongolia, many supported the actions of the coaches and saw the judges as favoring the Uzbek wrestler.

Sports journalist Shijirbat Sosorbaram said, "The judges violated the rules and deducted points from Mandakhnaran and it is not fair. I have seen wrestlers from other countries celebrating prematurely and they were not given a penalty."

"We want to give a bronze medal made out of fine gold to Mandakhnaran who was robbed of his medal by the actions of the judges," said Dashzeveg Altankhuyag, a governing board member of the association.

"We ask public to donate for the medal. We will award the medal to him on the 29th of August in front of the Sports Palace. So far, we've collected 20 million tugrug (around 8,988 U.S. dollars) from the public," said Altankhuyag.

The incident was widely covered by Mongolian media and commented by social media users who supported both the wrestler and the coaches' actions.

However, not everyone agreed with the association.

A Mongolian social media user named Enkhhe Battjargal said, "It is clear that he lost because he was not wrestling when he should have been. And it does not make sense to organize a public campaign to award a bronze medal made out of fine gold."

"We have to learn to lose. If we really have to raise funds, it is better to help the needy such as orphans, the disabled and the socially vulnerable class," said Battjargal.

In Mongolia, baring one's chest is a traditional sign of an honest fight and protest.