Strangled And Broken Ribs In 60s, Georgian Judoka Released From Tokyo Paralympics

Paralympics Illustration (Twitter @paralympics)

JAKARTA - Georgian judo athletes were expelled from the Tokyo Paralympics earlier this week. He was arrested for allegedly assaulting a security guard at a hotel.

Launching Antara, Friday, August 20, Kyodo reported that Zviad Gogotchuri, who is a gold medalist in the 90 kilograms judo class at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, was arrested by Japanese police on Monday.

The 34-year-old judoka will compete in the 100 kg at the Paralympics which kick off Tuesday.

He allegedly broke the ribs of a security guard who is in his 60s on the morning of August 12 when he ambushed the man and strangled him by the neck.

The incident came after another security guard warned Gogotchuri and several other Georgian athletes not to make a noise while drinking in the hotel's sixth-floor corridor.

Gogotchuri was quarantined at the hotel after a member of the country's team tested positive for COVID-19.

The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee said it had also barred any Georgian athletes from drinking with Gogotchuri at the time. He was required to train for three days as punishment.

Organizers said they had given a stern warning to the 15 members of the Georgia national team staying at the hotel and the Paralympic committee had also warned for their behavior.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Paralympics, which involve up to 4,400 athletes from around the world, will be held without spectators, except for a limited number of students participating in government-backed educational programs.

During the Tokyo Olympics which ended on August 8, two men's judokas from Georgia were stripped of their accreditation for leaving the athletes' village to go sightseeing in violation of COVID-19 protocols.