Zurabi Datunashvili
Georgian-Serbian wrestler
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Zurabi Datunashvili (Georgian: ზურაბ დათუნაშვილი, Serbian: Зураб Датунашвили / Zurab Datunašvili; born 18 June 1991) is a Georgian-born Serbian former Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the men's middleweight category.[1][2]
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Datunashvili at 2021 World Wrestling Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Georgia Serbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 June 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Style | Greco-Roman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | National Club of Georgia[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Viliam Kharazov[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
He won a silver medal in the same weight division at the 2013 European Wrestling Championships, coincidentally in his home city Tbilisi, losing out to defending Olympic champion Roman Vlasov of Russia.[3]
Datunashvili represented Georgia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he competed in the men's 74 kg class. He defeated South Korea's Kim Jin-Hyeok, and United States' Ben Provisor in the preliminary rounds, before losing out the quarterfinal match to Azerbaijan's Emin Ahmadov, with a three-set technical score (3–0, 0–3, 0–4), and a classification point score of 1–3.[4][5]
In World Wrestling Championships 2014 for bronze medal in the 75 kg he lost to Elvin Mursaliyev of Azerbaijan (1—1).
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he was knocked out in the first round by Doszhan Kartikov.[2] In November 2016, Datunashvili was disqualified from the 2016 European Cup of Nations after engaging in a mid-match fist fight with his Russian opponent, Imil Sharafetdinov, who was also disqualified. The fist fight descended into a brawl after the two wrestlers' coaches, as well as several fans, joined the melee. "The guys just failed to cope with their emotions, but they swiftly calmed themselves down and were shaking hands several minutes afterward," Gogi Koguashvili, the head coach of the Russian national wrestling team, later remarked.[6]
In 2018, Datunashvili accused the Georgian Wrestling Federation of favouritism and corruption. On 11 January 2019, he was assaulted by Gega Gegeshidze, the president of the Georgian Wrestling Federation, following a match with Robert Kobliashvili which Datunashvili lost by referee's decision. The incident was captured on video. "I don't want him [Gegeshidze] to be arrested, I want him to resign," Datunashvili later told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "He's not man enough to speak the truth, but I feel that truth will prevail. Everyone saw that he hit me with a blunt metal object of some kind." On 20 January, the Georgian Police announced they were opening an investigation into the incident.[7]
In 2020, he won one of the bronze medals in the 87 kg event at the Individual Wrestling World Cup held in Belgrade, Serbia.[8] In 2021, he won a bronze medal in Tokyo, at the Olympic games for the Serbian national team.
In 2022, he won the silver medal in his event at the Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey.[9] He won the gold medal in the 87 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[10]
His retirement from professional wrestling was announced in 2023.
The Anti-doping Section of the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Datunashvili violated anti-doping rules by using a prohibited method and falsification and sentenced him to 5 years of ineligibility and disqualification of all results since 27 May 2021.[11] The disqualification and reallocation of results is suspended pending an appeal against part of the decision.[11]
On 21 November 2025, Datunashvili's appeal was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and he was stripped of the Olympic bronze medal. The medal was subsequently awarded to Croatia's Ivan Huklek. CAS confirmed that all results achieved by the athlete since May 27, 2021, are invalid. These results include the bronze medal the athlete won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the gold medals won at the 2021 and 2022 UWW World Championships. ITA will not make any further comments on this matter.[12]
Personal life
A supporter of the former president Mikheil Saakashvili, Datunashvili dedicated him his 2021 World Championship medal.[13] Datunashvili was arrested on 4 December 2024 during the ongoing pro-European protests in Georgia.[14] He was released on 7 December.[15] He is a member of the political council of the Ahali party.[14]
