The Kazakh national taekwondo team recently ended training sessions for the 2015 world championships being held May 12-18 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The final workouts took place at a sports centre near Astana. The entire squad was present for the training, with the exception of the five number ones who joined the main team May 5.
For six months, Eldos Yskak, Nursultan Mamayev, Arman Nukeshtaev, Smail Duisebayev and Ruslan Zhaparov have been preparing for the championships in a separate programme under the auspices of French coach Philip Pinera. The full team left three days later for the world championships.
Team coach Mustahil Kabdrashev, assisted by coach-consultant Jing En Yu of South Korea, noted preparation for the start of the season has gone according to plan. The Taekwondo Federation entry into the Confederation of Combat and Power Sports has had a positive impact on the local taekwondo scene, allowing the team to participate in additional tournaments prior to the world championships.
“The conditions for training improved significantly and funding has increased, which allows us to take part in a sufficient number of training camps and competitions. Pay attention to the uniforms of the athletes: they are totally new and we bought them specifically for the world championship,” said Kabdrashev.
The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years. In contrast to boxing, the licences for Olympic Games are not played out. In addition to medals, the athletes fight for ranking points.
Kazakhstan’s national team coaching staff hope sto win two-three medals of various denominations. The main force on the team is Mamayev, silver medalist at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and Feruza Ergeshova, continent champion and a finalist at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
The Kazakh national team lineup at the world championshipsis:
Men: Yskak (54 kg), Mamayev (58 kg), Darkhan Kasymkulov (63 kg), Nukeshtaev (68 kg), Yerzhan Abylkasym (74 kg), Maksat Abdrambek (80 kg), Duisebayev (up to 87 kg ), Ruslan Zhaparov (over 87 kg).
Women: Zhazira Saparbek (46 kg), Aanargul Sabyr (49 kg), Fariz Aldongarova (53 kg), Asel Koilybai (57 kg), Gulim Bibalaeva (62 kg), Feruza Ergeshova (67 kg), Aygul Elubai (up to 73 kg), Mereke Zhunusova (over 73 kg).
