Some of the best fighters from 35 countries will battle to win the first Kazakh kuresy (Kazakh wrestling) international title in Pavlodar on Oct. 25 in a tournament with $150,000 in the prize fund.
“We gathered the best fighters from around the world, the number ones on their teams,” said Kazakh Kuresy Federation President Arman Shuraev. “Among them are the European, Australia and Oceania and world champions. I think that it will be a very serious, spectacular battle. We want to hold the tournament for that purpose, to put on a show and that the world witnesses our [national] martial art. We were able to publicise it in a short period of time and to raise the necessary level of the Kazakh kuresy in Kazakhstan and I think in about five to six years, this type of wrestling will be as widely known as Japanese Sumo,” he added.
Kazakhstan will be represented by four wrestlers: the holder of the 2012 title of Kazakhstan Barys Beibut Ystybaev, the holder of the 2013 title Aibek Nugymarov, the finalist of the 2014 Kazakhstan Barys Asylkhan Barmenov, and the bronze winner of the 2014 competition Ruslan Abdrazakov.
Other notable fighters who will participate in the event include Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Cuban judoka Oscar Brayson and judo world champion and the Czech Republic’s best fighter Lukas Krpalek, among others.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, a famous Japanese-American actor and martial artist of the Mortal Combat, Pearl Harbor and Planet of the Apes fame, will grace the tournament with his presence.
