NUR-SULTAN – Twenty-five Kazakh athletes from seven sporting events will take part in the 16th Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Aug. 24 and Sept. 5. This was announced during the meeting of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with athletes at the Akorda on July 29.
Photo credit: Akorda.kz.
This is a record number of participants in the history of independent Kazakhstan.
The President noted that the government will continue to create the necessary conditions for the development of Paralympic sports. “Each of you is already a winner. People are proud of you… Approximately 20,000 people are involved in Paralympic sports and 500 of them joined the national team,” said Tokayev.
Some 16 clubs and schools operate in the regions. The Paralympic Training Center was also opened in Nur-Sultan in 2018.
The National Paralympic Team of Kazakhstan won two gold and two silver medals in the previous games.
Asian para judo champion and World Cup winner Temirzhan Daulet thanked the President for the support on behalf of the athletes of the national team. “This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Independence of Kazakhstan. I am 30 too. The dream of young people like me, who were born and raised in an independent country, is to raise the Kazakh flag. The coaches did everything for our preparation. We will do our best in Tokyo,” said Daulet.
This year, Kazakh Paralympic athletes won licenses in swimming, judo, powerlifting, taekwondo and track-and-field athletics. The athletes also won licenses in canoeing and shooting for the first time.
Two-time world champion, three-time Asian champion and two-time European champion in para taekwondo Dombayev Nurlan and silver medalist of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Brazil Koishybayeva Raushan will be the standard-bearers of the Paralympic team of Kazakhstan in Tokyo.
