Georgia wins UWW Junior World Championship
By Mariam Chanishvili
Friday, September 2
The Georgian team became the champion of the United World Wrestling (UWW) Junior World Championship on August 31.
The team, coached by Zaza Silagadze, won one bronze and four gold medals, thus repeating last year’s excellent results.
David Chkhartishvili (55), Ramaz Zoidze (66), Giorgi Melia (96) and Zviad Pataridze (120) became world champions in their respective weight categories. Nugzar Tsutsumia (50) obtained a bronze medal, with the combined results earned by the team winning Georgia 51 points and first place.
The 20-year-old Melia defeated Swiss, American and Japanese athletes on his way to the gold medal.
Tsurtsumia reached the semi-final of the tournament after overcoming Ukrainian and Kazakh wrestlers, but was defeated by an Uzbek athlete.
It is worth mentioning that Zoidze successfully reclaimed his title of World Champion, which he also won last year.
As for Pataridze, this gold medal is the fourth in a row. In the 120kg category, he won gold after defeating Osman Yildirim from Turkey in the final with the score of 10-0. Last year, Pataridze was named Georgia's Young Sports Personality of the Year.
Russia earned the second place in the tournament followed by Iran at third place.
The championship was held in Macon, eastern France, on August 30 and will conclude on September 4.
