Paralympic Games: the Georgian athletes aiming for medals in Tokyo
The Georgian squad will undergo training in Tokyo before entering the competition later this month. Photo via Georgian Paralympic Committee.
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Over a dozen Georgian athletes have departed for Tokyo to compete in the upcoming Paralympic Games, aiming to improve on the medal count from the 2016 competition with an expanded squad.
The Georgian Paralympic Committee said 14 competitors would enter six sports in the Japanese capital starting in two weeks' time, with the Paralympics following on the Summer Olympic Games that concluded earlier this month.
The team is an expansion from the five-member national representation in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, where judoka Zviad Gogotchuri won gold - the first Paralympic medal for Georgia and the only one scored at the competition.
This year's Georgian delegation will involve the following competitors in their respective Paralympic sports:
- Athletics: [to be confirmed]
- Judo: Revaz Chikoidze, Giorgi Gamjashvili, Zviad Gogotchuri, Giorgi Kaldani, Ina Kaldani, Zurab Zurabiani
- Powerlifting: Ahmad Razm Azari, Akaki Jintcharadze
- Shooting sport: Vladimer Tchintcharauli
- Swimming: Nika Tvauri
- Wheelchair fencing: Irma Khetsuriani, Nino Tibilashvili, Gvantsa Zadishvili
The latter trio is entering the Paralympic tournament on the heels of major success at a World Cup contest in Warsaw last month, where Khetsuriani, Tibilashvili and Zadishvili swept gold.
Their three medals comprised a major part of the four gold, one silver and six bronze haul, earned by a wider Georgian team that also involved other fencers.
The Georgian squad will undergo a preparation and training stage in Tokyo before entering the competition, which is set to run between August 24-September 5.
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