Sport in Georgia

Historically, Georgia has been famous for its physical education; it is known that the Romans were fascinated with Georgians' physical qualities after seeing the training techniques of ancient Iberia.

Among the most popular sports in Georgia are football, basketball, rugby union, wrestling, judo and weightlifting. Other famous sports in 19th century Georgia were horse polo and lelo, a traditional Georgian game later replaced by rugby union.

Rugby union is a popular team sport played in Georgia. Rugby union is considered the second most popular sport in Georgia, after football.

Wrestling remains a historically important sport of Georgia and some historians think that the Greco-Roman style of wrestling incorporates many Georgian elements. Within Georgia, one of the most popularized styles of wrestling is the Kakhetian style. However, there have been a number of other styles that are not as widely used today. For example, the Khevsureti region of Georgia has three different styles of wrestling.

Despite the country's small size, it has produced several world elite basketball players including Tornike Shengelia, Vladimir Stepania, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and most notably Zaza Pachulia. The people of Georgia have shown great support for their national team. Mikheil Saakashvili, former president of the country traveled to Lithuania, to support his team at the 2011 EuroBasket, as another 1,500 fans from Georgia did.

...
Wikipedia