Judo wrestlers Lukhum Chkhvimiani, Tato Grigalashvili in International Judo Federation awards
Lukhum Chkhvimiani (left) and young talent Tato Grigalashvili are featured in two of the five end-of-the-year honours IJF has drawn up. Photos via IJF.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian judo wrestlers earned two of five prizes in the annual International Judo Federation public poll, with Lukhum Chkhvimiani and Tato Grigalashvili claiming honours from a shortlist of athletes.
The Male Judoka of the Year and the Rising Star Award both went to the Georgian entrants, with Chkhvimiani - winner of last year's Senior World Championships in Tokyo - finishing first in the voting for the former prize.
Watch the full #JUDOFEST video at https://t.co/5Bnyyj2QmT
— Judo (@Judo) December 27, 2020
IJF Awards ???? https://t.co/nVOjJuz5FD #JudoFest
Young talent Grigalashvili, who triumphed at this year's Düsseldorf Grand Slam, was recognised as the top prospect of the sport on his part.
Wrestlers Shohei Ono, Jorge Fonseca, Sagi Muki and Lukas Krpalek were vying with Chkhvimiani for the former prize, while Grigalashvili saw off competition from Patricia Sampaio, Andrea Stojadinov, Manuel Lombardo and Shirine Boukli.
The annual award categories are drawn up by the international ruling body to recognise outstanding wrestlers of the past year in the sport, with fans able to cast votes for their favourites online.
Georgia's capital Tbilisi will not host the 2020 Judo Grand Prix between March 27-29 after the International Judo Federation cancelled the tournament due to a "heightened risk" of coronavirus.
Georgian judoka Tato Grigalashvili has claimed historic gold at the Düsseldorf Grand Slam on Saturday. Grigalashvili, 20, handed a defeat to his Russian rival, Olympic champion Khasan Khalmurzaev in the under 81kg category yesterday.
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.
Two Georgian judo wrestlers, 2019 Tokyo World Championships winner Lukhum Chkhvimiani and rising talent Tato Grigalashvili, are in running to collect annual International Judo Federation awards in a public poll.
Georgian judoka Tato Grigalashvili has claimed gold at the World Judo Masters in Doha, Qatar earlier today. Grigalashvili, 21 has handed a defeat to his Dutch rival Frank De Wit in the under 81kg category. Doha is hosting the World Judo Masters on January 11-13.
Young Georgian wrestler Tato Grigalashvili was named the best male athlete at the Doha World Judo Masters, capping a competition where Georgian competitors earned five medals - including a gold for the young judoka.
Georgian judokas have won a total of eight medals at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, taking second place in the group competition after France. "The Georgian team did not bring all of their stars to Israel, but they have a quarry that seems limitless despite the size of the country. It is a team so attached to judo that it always aspires to achieve medals in any competition", the International Judo Federation said.
Georgia's Shmagi Bolkvadze left the mat at the European Wrestling Championship in Warsaw with the gold medal and pushed the team up to the third spot in the final rankings as the competition came to a close on Sunday.
Georgian wrestler Tato Grigalashvili claimed a gold medal at the 2022 Judo World Masters competition in Jerusalem on Wednesday.