Zurabi Datunashvili (Georgian: ზურაბ დათუნაშვილი, Serbian: Зураб Датунашвили / Zurab Datunašvili; born 18 June 1991) is a Georgian-born Serbian former Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the men's middleweight category.[1][2]
 Datunashvili at 2021 World Wrestling Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Georgia Serbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 June 1991 Tbilisi, Georgia, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Style | Greco-Roman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | National Club of Georgia[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Viliam Charazov[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editHe won a silver medal in the same weight division at the 2013 European Wrestling Championships, coincidentally in his home city Tbilisi, losing out to defending Olympic champion Roman Vlasov of Russia.[3]
Datunashvili represented Georgia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he competed in the men's 74 kg class. He defeated South Korea's Kim Jin-Hyeok, and United States' Ben Provisor in the preliminary rounds, before losing out the quarterfinal match to Azerbaijan's Emin Ahmadov, with a three-set technical score (3–0, 0–3, 0–4), and a classification point score of 1–3.[4][5]
In World Wrestling Championships 2014 for bronze medal in the 75 kg he lost to Elvin Mursaliyev of Azerbaijan (1—1).
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he was knocked out in the first round by Doszhan Kartikov.[2] In November 2016, Datunashvili was disqualified from the 2016 European Cup of Nations after engaging in a mid-match fist fight with his Russian opponent, Imil Sharafetdinov, who was also disqualified. The fist fight descended into a brawl after the two wrestlers' coaches, as well as several fans, joined the melee. "The guys just failed to cope with their emotions, but they swiftly calmed themselves down and were shaking hands several minutes afterward," Gogi Koguashvili, the head coach of the Russian national wrestling team, later remarked.[6]
In 2018, Datunashvili accused the Georgian Wrestling Federation of favoritism and corruption. On 11 January 2019, he was assaulted by Gega Gegeshidze, the president of the Georgian Wrestling Federation, following a match with Robert Kobliashvili which Datunashvili lost by referee's decision. The incident was captured on video. "I don't want him [Gegeshidze] to be arrested, I want him to resign," Datunashvili later told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "He's not man enough to speak the truth, but I feel that truth will prevail. Everyone saw that he hit me with a blunt metal object of some kind." On 20 January, the Georgian Police announced they were opening an investigation into the incident.[7]
In 2020, he won one of the bronze medals in the 87 kg event at the Individual Wrestling World Cup held in Belgrade, Serbia.[8] In 2021, he won a bronze medal in Tokyo, at the Olympic games for the Serbian national team.
In 2022, he won the silver medal in his event at the Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey.[9] He won the gold medal in the 87 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[10]
His retirement from professional wrestling was announced in 2023.
The Anti-doping Section of the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that wrestler Zurab Datunashvili violated anti-doping rules by using a prohibited method and falsification and sentenced him to 5 years of ineligibility and disqualification of all results from May 27, 2021.[11]
Personal life
editA supporter of the former president Mikheil Sakashvili, Datunashvili dedicated him his 2021 World Championship medal.[12] Datunashvili was arrested on 4 December 2024 during the ongoing pro-European protests in Georgia.[13] He was released on 7 December.[14] He is a member of the political council of the Ahali party.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Zurabi Datunashvili". London2012.com. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Zurabi Datunashvili". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "Gegeshidze Won Silver Medal". World Sport Georgia. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
Zurab Datunashvili
- ^ "Men's 74kg Greco-Roman Quarterfinals". London2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
Zurabi Datunashvili
- ^ d'Amato, Gary (5 August 2012). "Provisor eliminated, but not discouraged". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
Zurabi Datunashvili
- ^ Bakh, Maria (21 November 2016). "Russian and Georgian Wrestlers Disqualified in 2016 European Cup of Nations". CBW. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ Maglakelidze, Oto (22 January 2019). "Georgian Wrestler Hopes Federation President Down For The Count After Clash". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "2020 Individual Wrestling World Cup Results Book" (PDF). unitedworldwrestling.org. United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "2022 Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament Results Book" (PDF). UWW.org. United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "The ITA acknowledges CAS ADD decision sanctioning wrestler Zurabi Datunashvili for anti-doping rule violations". ita.sport. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Зураб Датунашвили посвятил свою победу на чемпионате мира Михаилу Саакашвили". 11 October 2021. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ a b "ŠOK! Uhapšen Zurab Datunašvili, heroj Srbije sa Olimpijskih igara u Tokiju". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ FoNet, Dušan Mlađenović (7 December 2024). "Zurab Datunašvili pušten iz pritvora". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
External links
edit- Zurabi Datunashvili at United World Wrestling
- Zurabi Datunashvili at the International Wrestling Database
- Zurabi Datunashvili at Olympics.com
- Zurabi Datunashvili at Olympedia
- Profile at National Wrestling Federation of Georgia (in Georgian)