2 silver, 1 bronze and team third place – it is the result of Georgian Greco-Roman wrestling team at the Tbilisi European Championship. The last two days of the championship were for Greco-Roman wrestling. If the Georgian team disappointed fans yesterday (the only bronze medal in 4 weight classes), today they wrestled better.
Other three Georgians wrestled on the mat and two of them wrestled in final. The third one needed one victory for getting in Top 3.
Vladimer Gegeshidze (84kg) who could not get in Top 3 at London Olympic Games beat opponents so that referees did not have a chance to spoil fights but he could not stand on the highest step of the pedestal.
Gegeshidze did not lose even one point before the final. He started participation from 1/8 final where the Georgian beat Andrian Mocanu of Romania. In ¼ final Gegeshidze defeated last European champion Bulgarian Hristo Marinov.
The most impressive was victory in semifinal.
In final Gegeshidze chose to stand in throw of grand amplitude but Mishin managed to turn the opponent several seconds before the final siren and became European champion for the sixth time. All three periods of the final finished 0:0.
Zurab Datunashvili (74kg) needed one victory for winning European gold. He lost to European, world and London Olympic champion Roman Vlasov of Russia. In this final we watched two pointless periods. Vlasov used both throw of grand amplitude.
Before the final Zurab Datunashvili beat three opponents: Balint Korpasi of Hungary (1:0 3:1), Bozo Starcevic of Croatia (2:0 1:0) and Pascal Eisele of Germany (2:0 7:2).
Manuchar Tskhadaia (66kg) also won a right to wrestle in final block but in ¼ final he lost to Adam Kurak of Russia. Before this fight, Tskhadaia won over Tomasz Swierk of Poland (1:0 1:0) and Dominik Etlinger of Croatia (5:0 0:1 6:0). In repechage the Georgian defeated Ion Luchita of Moldova 1:0 0:1 1:0. Then, he lost to Hasan Aliyev of Azerbaijan 1:1 2:1 0:2 and finally, the Georgian took the 5th place.
Russian team took the first place, Bulgaria – the second and Georgia – the third.
Georgian European Championship had a slogan. “Preserve Olympic wrestling” – banner was signed by managers of International and European Federation, current and veteran sportsmen, also representatives of Georgian and other federations. Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili signed the banner the first. Levan Kipiani, minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, and Leri Khabelov, president of National Olympic Committee, joined them.
International Olympic Committee will make decision about wrestling in September but it would be better if this problem will be solved till September.
European Championship
Greco-Roman wrestling
Tbilisi. March 24
66kg
1 Tamas Lorincz (Hungary)
2 Adam Kurak (Russia)
3 Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
3 Artak Margaryan (France)
5 Manuchar Tskhadaia (Georgia)
74kg
1 Roman Vlasov (Russia)
2 Zurab Datunashvili (Georgia)
3 Bozo Starcevic (Croatia)
3 Yavor Yanakiev (Bulgaria)
84kg
1 Aleksey Mishin (Russia)
2 Vladimer Gegeshidze (Georgia)
3 Artur Shahinyan (Armenia)
3 Nenad Zugaj (Croatia)
Otar Maglakelidze
