Tbilisi: Lasha Guruli, a 27-year-old Georgian boxer has created history by winning the bronze medal during the Paris Olympics. This was the second medal won by Georgia in the Olympics in 2024.
This was the debut performance of Georgian boxer Lasha Guruli. He secured second-ever Olympic bronze medal. During the match he finished on the third step of the podium. He competed against Cuba’s Alvarez Borges in the semi-finals. His victory was also historic as this was his second medal after the year 2000 in boxing . In the year 2000, Vladimer Chanturia won a medal at the Summer Olympics games in Sydney.
It is worth noting that the Guruli defeated Malik Hasanov of Azerbaijan by 5-0 to reach the semifinal stage. Similarly in the quarter-final he defeated Kazakhstan’s Bazarbai Muhammad Sabri 3-2. Lasha Guruli has an excellent past record. He is the vice-champion of the European Games and has won two bronze and two silver medals at the World Championship.
Notably this time the Republic of Georgia sent 28 athletes to the Paris Olympics. To date the Georgian players have claimed four medals. The first was the gold claimed by judoka Lasha Bekauri. In addition to Guruli’s result the judo wrestlers Tato Grigalashvili and Ilia Sulamanidze won other medals.
The Georgian government has announced a huge cash prize for the winner of the Olympic games. The amount of ₾1 million ($369,717) will be given to each Olympic champion. Moreover, the silver medal winner will be eligible for ₾500,000 ($184,858), and bronze medal winners will get ₾250,000 ($92,429).
The government of independent Georgia has taken many steps to develop a sports culture. The current boxing medal is Georgians’ 44th medal after independence. This is Georgia’s 19th Olympic medal. The 19 medals also include two medals secured by Georgian boxers. The citizens of the Georgia are celebrating the success of boxer Lasha Guruli in many cities across the country.
