Mikheil Kajaia (Georgian: მიხეილ ქაჯაია; Serbian: Михаил Каџаја, Mihail Kadžaja; born 21 July 1989) is a Georgian-born Serbian Greco-Roman wrestler. [1]

Mikheil Kajaia
Personal information
Born21 July 1989 (1989-07-21) (age 35)
Tskaltubo, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight97 kg (214 lb)
Sport
Country Georgia (2010–2017)
 Serbia (2017–)
SportWrestling
EventGreco-Roman
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Serbia
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Budapest 97 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Nur-Sultan 97 kg
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Kaspiysk 97 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Zagreb 97 kg
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tarragona 97 kg
Representing  Georgia
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kazan 96 kg

Career

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Representing Georgia, Kajaia participated in the 2013 Summer Universiade and he won the bronze medal in the 96 kg event. [2] He was part of the Georgian Wrestling Team at the 2015 European Games but lost to Italian Daigoro Timoncini at the 1/8 finals. [3]

In 2017, Kajaia started to wrestle for Serbia. He entered the 2017 European Wrestling Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia but defeated by the Olympic champion Artur Aleksanyan in the second round. [4] One year later, he won his first European medal, a silver, in Kaspiysk, Russia. He reached the final at 97 kg but lost to Artur Aleksanyan again with a score of 0-7. [5] At the 2018 Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain, he lost to the eventual champion, Frenchman Mélonin Noumonvi, in the semifinals but still successfully grabbed a bronze medal. Kajaia later won his first world bronze medal in Budapest, Hungary. In the bronze-medal match, Kajaia faced former world champion and home favourite Balázs Kiss. Kajaia trailed 0-3 after the first period but managed a turnaround by winning on criteria with a four-point arm throw. [6] In April 2021, he competed in the 97 kg event at the 2021 European Wrestling Championships held in Warsaw, Poland.

He competed in the men's 97 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.[7]

In 2022, he competed at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 held in Rome, Italy.[8] He competed in the 97 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[9]

He competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.[10] He was eliminated in his third match and he did not qualify for the Olympics.[10] Kajaia also competed at the 2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey without qualifying for the Olympics.[11] He was able to compete at the Olympics and he competed in the 97 kg event.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Database". UWW. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 World Championships preview at 97 kg/213.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Wrestling - Men's 98kg Greco-Roman". Baku 2015. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Baldauf Stuns Rio 2016 Champ, Serbia Advances Two to GR Finals at European C'ships". UWW. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Golds on Third Day of Euro C'Ships". UWW. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Russia Sweeps Greco Gold Medals on Final Day of World Championships". UWW. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. ^ "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  10. ^ a b "2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  11. ^ "2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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