Lukhum Chkhvimiani (60 kg), member of the Georgian judo team, won bronze medal at Tbilisi Grand Prix and earned 120 ranking points. The Georgian defeated Gabit Yessimbetov of Kazakhstan in repechage final.
Chkhvimiani opened the tournament by beating Grigor Ivanyan of Armenia. Then, he lost to Orkhan Safarov of Azerbaijan in ¼ final. Before the decisive fight the Georgian judoka won over another Georgian Paata Merebashvili.
In this weight class Amiran Papinashvili was one win away from taking the third place. He lost to Olympic champion Arsen Galstyan of Russia.
In ¼ final Papinashvili lost to Gabit Yessimbetov of Kazakhstan. Before that, he defeated Tseden Raakhanjav of Mongolia. In repechage semifinal Papinashvili beat compatriot Giorgi Brolashvili.
Today Shalva Kardava, Tristan Peikrishvili, Giorgi Kaldani and Gela Kelikhashvili (all 66 kg) wrestled in the name of Georgia. Mariam Tsikhelashvili, Salome Abashidze and Sophio Beridze (all 57 kg) wrestled at female tournament. Kardava and Peikrishvili took the 7th place.
Otar Maglakelidze
