Georgia: Success and sadness at European Games, Baku

Georgian athletes at the 2015 European Games in Baku are on a rollercoaster of highs and lows, after athletes won several medals but another was disqualified from the competition.

More than a hundred Georgian athletes are competing in the inaugural competition across 17 sports from June 12-28. The Georgian athletes are among 6,000 athletes from 50 countries participating in the Games, which will reveal the best athletes across 20 sports.

Yesterday, in the opening days of the competition, Georgia won three medals. A silver medal was won by mixed-pair archery duo Lasha Pkhakadze and Khatuna Narimanidze, another silver medal went to freestyle wrestler Elizbar Odikadze (96kg) and a bronze medal was won by freestyle wrestler Jumber Kvelashvili (74kg).

The mixed-pair archers were the first of the Georgian athletes to get a podium finish.

The official website of Baku 2015 reported Georgia "was made to work hard against Great Britain in the women's team 1/8 elimination at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium”. Georgia needed a 10 on the final arrow to take the match 5-3 and proceed to the quarter-final match against Ukraine.

The pair went on to win their semi-final against but lost the gold medal match to Italy 3-5.

"My heart was pounding and my legs were shaking. I still cannot talk about it but what matters is the win,” said Narimanidze.

Inside the wrestling arena, Georgia’s freestyle wrestler Odikadze finished in second place behind Azerbaijan in the 96kg category and took home a silver medal. Kvelashvili, another freestyle wrestler, won a bronze medal after defeating Belarus in his final match.

These successes were welcomed by the Georgian team however another athlete was denied the chance to compete for a medal.

Freestyle wrestler Vladimir Khinchegashvili was competing against Belarusian wrestler Vladislav Andreyev in the 57kg weight category semi-final match when they got into a brawl. Both athletes were disqualified immediately and removed from the arena.

A new semi-final was held between the defeated quarter-final opponents.

The European Games in Baku will continue in the capital of Azerbaijan until June 28.