Georgian Greco-Roman wrestling team won 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Grand Prix in Baku. Otar Tatishvili, head coach of the team, took 16 athletes in Azerbaijan and 3 of them managed to get into the top three. Iakob Kajaia (120kg) wrestled most effective – he took the 2nd place. Ushangi Chitaishvii (74kg) and Beka Rokva (96kg) won the bronze medals.
Iakob Kajaia won over Russian Vasil Parshin (6:5) in the first meeting, then defeated Iranian Behnam Nehdizadeh (1:0) and Turkish Attila Giuzel (3:1) and went through the final. Where he lost to Sabahi Saryat (1:7) of azerbaijan.
After beating Ukrainian Osman Saliev (7:0) in the main draw, he lost the chance to win gold and silver medal to Rafig Huseinov (0:5). However, he won the bronze medal by defeating Turkish Fatih Chengiz (8:2) and Russian Zelimkhan Mudaev (6:5).
Beka Rokva lost to Norwegian Martin Hamlet Nielsen (0:6) in the first circle and switched to the repechage, where he won over Iranian Seiedmostafa Salehizadeh (4:2) at first and then in the “bronze final” he overcame his teammate Mikheil Kajaia (7:0). Like Kajaia, Revaz Lashkhi (66kg), Manuchar Tskhadaia (74kg), Giorgi Tsirekidze and Revaz Nadareishvili (both 84kg) could not reach the pedestal. In the repechage final, Lashkhi lost to Croatian Dominique Etlinger (0:3), Tskhadaia lost to Ukrainian Mykola Daragan (2:3), Tsirekidze to Shahriar Mamadov (1:7) and Nadareishvili to Hungarian Viktor Lorints (5:6).
Today, Giorgi Lominadze (55kg), Lasha Gogitidze (60kg), Marad Abuladze, Giorgi Davitaia (both 66kg), Nikoloz Kelasovi (84kg), Irakli Kajaia (96kg), Shota Gogisvanidze and Guram Perselidze (both 120kg) also wrestled in Azerbaijan but all were defeated in the initial stage.
Georgian team took the 2nd place with 60 points. The champion Azerbaijan earned double points. Russia and Turkey devided 3rd and 4th places with 34 and 32 points.
Tomorrow, women will participate in Baku. The day after tomorrow free style wrestlers will take part and the team of Revaz Mindorashvili also will be involved.
Otar Maglakelidze
