ASTANA – More than 100 Kazakh athletes will represent their country during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Vice Minister of Sports and Culture Saken Mussaibekov said during a briefing at the Central Communications Services on Oct. 30.
“Our main goal in the near future is the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” he said during the briefing. “We have already gotten 26 slots and we are planning to get 35-40 more by the end of the year. In general, we are planning that over 100 of our athletes will represent our country in Rio de Janeiro.”
In order to repeat the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games’ success, when Kazakhstan was 12th overall with seven gold, one silver and five bronze medals, significant organisational events have been approved, according to Chairman of the Committee of Sports Affairs of the Ministry of Sports and Culture Ilsiyar Kanagatov.
Kanagatov also stressed the importance of preparation for the Paralympic Games; currently 17 paralympic athletes in six events have carried out their training. In total, according to Kanagatov, it is hoped Kazakhstan will win at least 10 Olympic slots for the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.
The Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Brazil on Aug. 5-21. So far, 142 countries have qualified for the Games of the 206 that are expected to participate. In total, more than 10,000 athletes are expected to fight for medals in 28 sporting events.
