Georgian basketball player Tornike Shengelia has been married to his wife, Salome Jugeli, for over a decade. The couple is blessed with three sons.
Tornike Shengelia, nicknamed “Shelengija,” is a Georgian basketball player who competes professionally for Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A and the EuroLeague.
Shengelia started his professional career in 2008 with Valencia. In 2010, he went to a Belgium team, Spirou Charleroi.
Then, in 2012, Shengelia became eligible to showcase his talents in the NBA. He was selected as the 54th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Later on the draft night, the 76ers traded him to the Brooklyn Nets.
Likewise, Tornike has played for a handful number of teams during his career. Tornike joined Italian giants Virtus Bologna on 7 March 2022.
Shengelia also represents Georgia at the national level. He has competed at the 2011 Eurobasket, the 2015 Euro Basket, and the 2017 Eurobasket.
Shengelia is a 2x EuroCup champion, an Italian Supercup winner, a Liga ACB champion, an All-Liga ACB First & Second Team, and a VTB United League winner. He played a key role in Georgia’s journey to their first-ever World Cup in 2023.
Georgia is in 2nd place in their group, having won one game and lost one. They will face Venezuela today, who seem to be equally competent despite being the last in the group.
Tornike Shengelia Wife Salome Jugeli: Married Life And Kids
Tornike Shengelia is married to his wife, Salome Jugeli. The two lovebirds tied the knot on September 22, 2013. The couple got married in Mshteka, just north of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
The wedding venue was a 900-year-old Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the mother church of the Georgian Orthodox Church. For the wedding, the bride and groom wore traditional Georgian attire.
The wedding was attended by many guests, including famous personalities like Zaza Pachulia and Irina Pavlova.
Together, Tornike and Salome are proud parents to three sons who are all young. The parents have yet to reveal their children’s names.
Tornike often shares pictures of him with his wife and children on his Instagram. It seems like the Shengelia family is living a happy life.
His wife, Salome Jugeli, is a versatile professional in the world of freelancing. From photography to film production to art and teaching, you name it, she has it all. Recently, she did commercials for Tegeta, Vendoo, Georgian Bank, and many more.
Apart from this, she is also a professional gymnast. According to her, she has been in the diving scene since 1998. She is the champion of Georgia 6 times and have won accolades in other countries across Europe as well.
Collectively, she won 18 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze medals during her career.
Shengelia: A Whistleblower
On 9 July 2020, Tornike signed a three-year deal with Russia’s most successful basketball club CSKA Moscow. He spent two years at the Moscow, and then things started going south.
On 26 February 2022, Shengelia personally terminated the contract with CSKA Moscow in protest of Russia’s incursion of Ukraine.
He wrote “Praying for Ukraine! Stay strong” on his Facebook page, along with changing his profile picture across all social media handles to a Ukraine flag.
Moreover, he added, “I take this decision in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I do not consider it possible to continue playing for the Red Army club.”
Eventually, the team accused him and others of violating their legal contracts.
However, Russia faced a suspension from the Euroleague and FIBA, as a result, CSKA couldn’t take any legal actions against Tornike and others.
