National Wrestling Team Trains in U.S., Achieves First Peaks

Kazakhstan’s athletes are preparing for a major international tournament to be held in memory of the famous American wrestler, Olympic and world champion Dave Schultz. The event is so significant that several teams, including four groups in Colorado Springs, have begun preparation well ahead of the competition.

The joint training, led by the Kazakh team’s head coach, Tanat Sagyndykov, and the American wrestlers, was in a mode of constant competition. Kazakh athletes held four friendly matches with constantly changing U.S. teams and won three games.

The Kazakhstan team dominated at the start, taking over with a score of 7-0. The early victory was followed by a loss, 3-4. The Central Asian athletes then regrouped and won the last two matches with two scores of 5-2.

According to the press service of the Wrestling Federation of Kazakhstan, in the last match two Kazakh wrestlers, Maksat Erezhepov (weight category up to 74 kg) and Nursultan Kalmyrzayev (55 kg) were injured and could not finish the fight.

In the four matches against the American teams, Sagyndykov’s wrestlers were tested. Kazakhstan’s Greco-Roman wrestlers Nursultan Kalmyrzayev (55 kg); Erbol Kikbayev, Nurgalym Kuandyk and Almat Kebispaev (60 kg); Erbol Konyratov and Askhat Zhanbyrov (66 kg); Maksat Erezhepov (74 kg); Alkhazur Ozdiev and Nursultan Tursynov (84 kg); Erulan Iskakov and Zhanarbek Kabdolov (96 kg) and Nurmakhan Tynaliev (120 kg) showed themselves to be highly experienced athletes capable of international success.

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