Vakhtang Balavadze

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Vakhtang Balavadze

Wachtang Mikhailovich Balavadze ( Georgian ვახტანგ ბალავაძე , Russian Вахтанг Михайлович Балавадзе ; * November 20, 1927 ; † July 25, 2018 in Tbilisi ) was a Soviet wrestler of Georgian descent, two-time world champion in the world Olympic Games in 1956 and winner of the bronze medal in the 1956 free style Olympic Games in Melbourne .

Career

Vakhtang Balavadze belonged to the Georgian association "Burewestnik" Tbilisi . In the Soviet times the students were organized in the "Burewestnik" sports associations. Wachtang was trained to be an excellent freestyle wrestler in Tbilisi, where there was a wrestling center. In 1952 he just failed in the Olympic qualification to Wassili Rybalko. In 1953 he was the first Soviet welterweight champion and also won the World Youth Festival in Bucharest in front of Nikola Stantschew from Bulgaria a . the Finnish saloons.

1954 World Championships in free style took place in Tokyo . Wachtang was used there in the welterweight division and won the world title with five victories. He defeated such strong wrestlers as Bekir Büke from Turkey and Mohammad Ali Fardin from Iran .

At the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 he won a. a. via Alfred Tischendorf from Jena , who represented the all-German team, and Per Berlin from Sweden , but was somewhat surprisingly defeated by İbrahim Zengin from Turkey and Mitsuo Ikeda from Japan and only won the bronze medal .

At the 1957 World Cup in Istanbul Wachtang remained undefeated, only İsmail Ogan from Turkey won a draw against him and became world champion for the second time . He could not defend this title at the World Cup in Tehran in 1959 , because he met an Imam Ali Habibi from Iran, who was in excellent shape , to whom he lost on points.

At his last start at an international championship, the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome , Wachtang disappointed. He only won over the Indian Udey Chand, fought against Martin Heinze from Halle and lost to Ismail Ogan. He therefore had to be content with 11th place.

Wachtang was also very successful in the national field. In 1956 he became Soviet master before Muchtar Dadaschew a. M. Shebanov. In 1957 he won this title in front of Muchtar Dadaschew and Mikhail Bekmurzov and in 1959 he won the welterweight competition at the II. Spartakiad of the USSR in front of Mikhail Bekmurzow a. L. Chumichev.

In the big double country match between Sweden and the USSR in Stockholm in 1954, Wachtang lost to Per Berlin and won against Hans Antonsson .

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, F = free style, We = welterweight, back then up to 73 kg body weight)

swell

  • 1) Div. Issues of the specialist magazine "Athletik" from 1952 to 1960,
  • 2) Documentation of International Wrestling Championships of the FILA, 1976

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ушёл из жизни бронзовый призёр Игр-1956 по вольной борьбе Балавадзе. In: championat.com. July 25, 2018, Retrieved July 25, 2018 (Russian).
personal data
SURNAME Balavadze, Vakhtang
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Balavadze, Vakhtang Mikhailovich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION soviet wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH November 20, 1927
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 2018
Place of death Tbilisi