Georgian Greco-Roman wrestling team started participating in European Championship with 2 bronze medals. 5 Georgian sportsmen wrestled yesterday in Sarajevo. Champions and prize-winners were found out in a 42, 50, 58, 69 and 85-weight-class. Ednar Shavadze (42 kg) and Robert Kobliashvili (85 kg) stood on the pedestal from the team trained by Vaja Kraveishvili.
According to the voting for lightweight class, 15 from 17 participants will wrestle in the second round. Shavadze had to defeat Latvian Nikita Masjuks to go through the next round. Then he wrestled with Azerbaijanian Karim Jafarov (future champion) and after been beat he wrestled in repechage where he defeated Ukraianian Roman Patsurkivsky and Turkish Alpaslan Gisi Omer and gained first bronze medal for the team.
Robert Koblishvili was defeated by future champion in the second round. Before wrestling with Bulgarian Iliyan Gazepov, Robert beat Lithuanian Tomas Galkus. He also beat Estonian Est Piksar, Ukrainian Artem Kyrychenko and Austrian Daniel Gastl. Mate Beridze (69 kg) started championship with beating German Cerbert Schwarz. Then he also defeated Swiss Damian Dietsche. Beridze wrestled with Russian Bekkhan Ozdoev in 1/4 final. Beridze had to defeat two competitors to stand on the 3rd step of pedestal but he was beat by Turkish Batuhan Koyuncu and took the 8th place.
Shmagi Bolkvadze (50 kg) and Ramaz Surmanidze (58 kg) were left beyond the championship even without repechage because their defeaters could not go through the final. Bolkvadze who won silver gold at the European Championship last year, this time he only beat Belarusian Yahor Beliak and was defeated by Hungarian Bence Juhasz. Surmanidze beat Hungarian Adrian Kranitz and Armenian Suren Hasratyan and could not continue fighting for gold and silver medals from 1/4 final. He took the 7th place after been beat by Azerbaijanian Roshan Taghiyev.
Today champions and prize-winners will be found out in last 5 weight classes - 46 kg, 54 kg, 63 kg, 76 kg and 100 kg. Murtaz Chabrava (46 kg), Amiran Shavadze (54 kg), Piruz Tsulukidze (63 kg), Lasha Gobadze (76 kg) and Iakob Kajaia (100 kg) will wrestle in the name of Georgia. Tsulukidze is current champion of Europe in a 58-weight-class. Shavadze won bronze medal in a 46-weight-class last year.

Otar Maglakelidze