Mikheil Kajaia ( ka, მიხეილ ქაჯაია; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Михаил Каџаја, Mihail Kadžaja; born 21 July 1989) is a Georgian-born

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

wrestler.

Career

Representing Georgia, Kajaia participated in the

2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (; ), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 university athletes from 162 countries participated ...

and he won the bronze medal in the 96 kg event. He was part of the Georgian Wrestling Team at the

2015 European Games The 1st European Games (), also known as the 2015 European Games or Baku 2015 (), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Europe ...

but lost to Italian Daigoro Timoncini at the 1/8 finals. In 2017, Kajaia started to wrestle for Serbia. He entered the

2017 European Wrestling Championships The 2017 European Wrestling Championships was held in Novi Sad, Serbia, from 2 to 7 May 2017. The winner of the silver medal in the 97 kg category, Anzor Boltukayev from Russia, was disqualified and deprived of the medal due to doping.https://un ...

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, Serbia but defeated by the Olympic champion Artur Aleksanyan in the second round. One year later, he won his first European medal, a silver, in

Kaspiysk Kaspiysk (; Lezgin: Каспи ; ) is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. The 2010 Russian census recorded the city as being the fourth-largest in Dagestan. It is a working-class satellite city to ...

, Russia. He reached the final at 97 kg but lost to Artur Aleksanyan again with a score of 0-7. At the

2018 Mediterranean Games The 2018 Mediterranean Games (, ), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games (, ) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 June to 1 July 2018 in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Tarragona was ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, 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 Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, 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. In April 2021, he competed in the 97kg event at the

2021 European Wrestling Championships The 2021 European Wrestling Championships was held from 19 to 25 April 2021 in Warsaw, Poland. 428 athletes from 36 countries competed for continental gold at the European Championship. There were 168 Greco-Roman tournament entries, 155 freestyle ...

held in Warsaw, Poland. He competed in the men's 97kg event at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

held in Tokyo, Japan. In 2022, he competed at the

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 The Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 was a wrestling event held in Ostia, Rome, Italy between 22 and 25 of June 2022. The third United World Wrestling Ranking Series event of the year, it featured multiple World and Olympic Champions, Pan-Am ...

held in Rome, Italy. He competed in the 97kg event at the

2022 World Wrestling Championships The 2022 World Wrestling Championships was the 17th edition of the World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held between 10 and 18 September 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The UWW Bureau approved the candidature of Belgrade, Serbia as ...

held in Belgrade, Serbia. He competed at the

2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament The 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament was the third regional qualifying tournament for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The event was held from 5 to 7 April 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Qualification summary Men's freestyle 57 kg ...

in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris, France. He was eliminated in his third match and he did not qualify for the Olympics. Kajaia also competed at the

2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament The 2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament was the last qualifying tournament for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The event was held from 9 to 12 May 2024, in Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, la ...

held in Istanbul, Turkey without qualifying for the Olympics. He was able to compete at the Olympics and he competed in the 97kg event.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kajaia, Mikheil 1989 births Living people Martial artists from Imereti Serbian people of Georgian descent Serbian male sport wrestlers World Wrestling Championships medalists Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Serbia Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists for Georgia (country) Wrestlers at the 2019 European Games European Games competitors for Serbia European Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Naturalized citizens of Serbia Wrestlers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic wrestlers for Serbia 21st-century Serbian sportsmen