Footballer Chakvetadze, tennis player Basilashvili in top rankings of 2018
Nikoloz Basilashvili and Giorgi Chakvetadze ended their successful seasons on a high. Photos: Nikoloz Basilashvili on Facebook/UEFA.
Tweet 
Share
Two Georgian athletes capped their successful seasons by topping end-of-year international rankings, with teenage football talent Giorgi Chakvetadze and the country’s tennis star Nikoloz Basilashvili closing the year on a high.
Chakvetadze, 19, followed up his 2017 Georgian Young Player of the Year Award with a wider recognition, as the midfielder was named among 50 emerging talents to watch in 2019 by UEFA.
The European football body selected the Belgian club Gent player for its ‘50 for the future’ pick, in which UEFA reporters named “some of Europe's rising stars”.
The continental organisation called Chakvetadze an “attacking midfielder with pace and great feet [...] dubbed the ‘Georgian Kaká’ in some quarters”, in reference to the well-known Brazilian midfielder.
Chakvetadze was reported to have been tracked by Spanish giants FC Barcelona as well as Tottenham Hotspur and other clubs.
Over in the world of tennis, Nikoloz Basilashvili, who became the first Georgian to win ATP World Tour title, finished the year within the top 20 of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Singles Ranking.
Recognised as the principal ranking for tennis athletes, the list tracks performances of top performing professional competitors throughout the year.
Basilashvili joined the company of stars like Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic in the Top 20 ranking, the highest for a Georgian player.
The 26-year old’s World Tour championship highlight came in Hamburg in July, when he defeated Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer in the final.
Basilashvili will face Djokovic, the World No. 1 in the ranking, in a quarterfinal of the Qatar Open today.
The National Olympic committee of Georgia has summarised the year of 2018 activities and announced the best athletes of the year.
Georgia’s leading tennis player Nikoloz Basilashvili has been praised for his performance in the US Open round of Last 16 by the World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, following their three hour, 20 minute match in New York on Sunday.
The top players, managers, referees and honoured figures of the past year in football were acknowledged in Tbilisi within the annual Georgian Football Federation (GFF) Awards on Wednesday.
Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili has reached quarterfinals of the ongoing Dubai Tennis Championships after defeating world no. 18 Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday.
Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili has marked a new high in his playing career after reaching the world no. 18 spot in the Association of Tennis Professionals ranking last weekend.
Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili has reached a new milestone in his career after taking the. 16th spot on the Association of Tennis Professionals world rankings this week. This comes after defeating French rivals Tristan Lamasine and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Lyon, France, during the ATP 250 clay-court tournament and winning €501,345 in prize money.
Georgian judoka Lukhum Chkhvetiani has made a history by winning the World Championships Senior 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. Watch Chkhvetiani defeate an Uzbek Sharafuddin Lutfillaev in -60kg category.
Nikoloz Basilashvili has made tennis history for Georgia by becoming the country’s first player to claim an ATP World Tour title on Sunday.