Lasha Shavdatuashvili captured Georgia’s first medal of the Rio Olympic Games after winning bronze in men’s 73-kilogram category in judo on August 8.
Shavdatuashvili defeated Israeli judoka Sagi Muki with ippon in the bronze medal match.
It is the second Olympic medal for 24-year-old Lasha Shavdatuashvili, who won the gold in the London Olympics four years ago.
In quarterfinal, Shavdatuashvili lost to Japan’s Shohei Ono, who ultimately won the gold medal. The Georgian judoka paved the way for the bronze medal match after defeating in repechage bout Russia’s Denis Yartsev.
Georgia initially sent 39 athletes to Rio, the largest ever Olympic team for the country.
But after Russia’s weightlifting team was banned from competing at the Rio Olympics because of doping offences, available quota was reallocated to eight countries, including Georgia, which increased number of its athletes in Rio to 40.
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