Gennady Chkhaidze (Georgian: გენნადი ჩხაიძე; Uzbek: Геннадий Чхаидзе; born 19 June 1974 in Tbilisi) is a retired amateur Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category.[1] Chkhaidze finished fifth in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004) under different banners Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, and later claimed a bronze medal in the men's heavyweight division at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, when he altered his allegiances with the Uzbekistan team. Before ending his sporting career in 2008, Chkhaidze trained for the Trade Union Sports Club in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, under head coach Kamil Fatkulin.

Gennady Chkhaidze
Personal information
Full nameGennady Chkhaidze
Nationality Georgia
 Kyrgyzstan
 Uzbekistan
Born (1974-06-19) 19 June 1974 (age 50)
Tbilisi, Georgian SSR
Soviet Union
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight96 kg (212 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubTrade Union Sports Club (UZB)
CoachKamil Fatkulin
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Uzbekistan
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 96 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Almaty 96 kg

Representing his native Georgia, Chkhaidze made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's heavyweight division (97 kg). During the preliminary pool, Chkhaidze upset Polish wrestler and two-time Olympic champion Andrzej Wroński with a striking effort, and fell Turkey's Hakkı Başar off the ring to earn a spot in the knockout rounds, scoring a cumulative total of six points and a set of two triumphs.[2] Followed by the next day's session, Chkhaidze lost his quarterfinal match to U.S. wrestler and junior world champion Garrett Lowney in overtime, until he settled for a fifth-place finish in a consolation battle against Kazakhstan's Sergey Matviyenko.[3][4]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Chkhaidze qualified under the new Kyrgyzstan team for the men's 96 kg class by receiving a berth and a gold medal from the Asian Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.[5] Chkhaidze continued to deliver a more powerful performance by beating Bulgaria's Kaloyan Dinchev and Palau's John Tarkong in the preliminary pool, before he lost his quarterfinal match to Iranian wrestler Masoud Hashemzadeh. Despite receiving another defeat from Cuba's Ernesto Peña in a classification match, Chkhaidze upgraded his position again to fifth for the second time after Hashemzadeh was disqualified for a bronze medal protest.[6] Shortly after the Games, Chkhaidze transferred his allegiance to the Uzbek team due to citizenship issues with Kyrgyzstan.

When Chkhaidze competed for Uzbekistan at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, he flourished his wrestling career by picking up the bronze medal in his match against Iraq's Ali Nadhim after his sudden upset from South Korea's Han Tae-Young in the opening round.

References

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  1. ^ "Gennady Chkhaidze". 21 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  2. ^ "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Heavyweight Greco-Roman (97kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 109–110. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Sydney 2000: Roundup; U.S. Wrestler Relies On the Judges Again". New York Times. 26 September 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  4. ^ Robinson, Alan (25 September 2000). "Inexperienced American upsets five-time world champ". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. ^ Abbott, Gary (27 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 96kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
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