Georgian wrestler takes gold at European judo championship

Georgian wrestler Giorgi Papunashvili triumphed at the European Judo Open championship on Sunday, winning five matches and taking the tournament's gold medal.

Papunashvili claimed gold following his victory over Germany's Dominic Ressel in the 81kg category final in Bulgaria's capital Sofia.

European Judo Open Sofia 2016 Podium at -81kg: Gold: PAPUNASHVILI, Giorgi (GEO) Silver: RE… https://t.co/CXTd0LcO9Xpic.twitter.com/ckiWdi9RCn

— European Judo Union (@europeanjudo) January 31, 2016

Before defeating his German counterpart Papunashvili overcame four opponents from Denmark, Russia, Romania and the Netherlands on his way to the final.

Papunashvili finished third in last year's Sofia competition.

See Georgia's Giorgi Papunashvili take the gold medal of the 2016 European Judo Open in a final against Germany's Dominic Ressel below:

Two other Georgians claimed medals at the judo contest. Giorgi Katsiashvili finished second in the 73kg category and Lasha Taveluri took bronze in the 100kg section.

The competition featured seven separate weight categories for 241 male and 144 female wrestlers from 52 countries.

Among the 385 athletes were 28 male and four female competitors from Georgia.

The 2016 European Judo Open ran in Bulgaria's capital from January 30-31.