ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s karate athlete Sofya Berultseva secured the gold medal on Oct. 7 at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the tenth gold medal for the country, announced the National Olympic Committee.
Sofya Berultseva. Photo credit: olympic.kz
Competing in the women’s karate category for athletes weighing above 68 kilograms, Berultseva emerged as the undisputed champion, facing off against Arika Gurung from Nepal and securing a decisive victory with a score of 3:0.
Born in Shymkent in 2000, Berultseva’s love for karate began at the young age of six.
She has a series of impressive victories in various competitions. In 2016, she clinched the gold medal in the weight category above 59 kilograms at the Youth Asian Championships in Jakarta. The following year, she continued her winning streak, securing another gold medal in the same category at the Youth Asian Championships in Astana in 2017. She also emerged victorious at the 2017 Youth World Championships in Tenerife, Spain.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, Berultseva competed in the weight category above 61 kilograms. A series of impressive performances ultimately secured her the bronze medal at the Olympics.
In July 2022, Berultseva won the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in the weight category above 68 kilograms. She added another gold to her collection in August by becoming the champion at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Türkiye, in the same weight category.
Updates on Kazakhstan’s performance at the Asian Games
In the men’s karate event on Oct. 7, the final match in the above 84-kilogram weight category featured Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Yuldashev pitted against Malaysia’s Muhammad Arif Afifuddin Ab Malik. Yuldashev suffered a narrow defeat, with the final score of 4:10.
Daniyar Yuldashev. Photo credit: olympic.kz
In the men’s karate event for athletes under 67 kilograms, Didar Amirali secured the bronze medal for Kazakhstan. He defeated Iran’s Zade Mahdi with a score of 7:2.
On Oct. 7, Marian Urdabayeva from Kazakhstan became third in jiu-jitsu in the 63-kilogram weight category.
Marian Urdabayeva. Photo credit: olympic.kz
Yasmin Tuyakova and Arina Pushkina also claimed the bronze medal in artistic swimming in the duet competition.
The women’s chess team from Kazakhstan clinched gold. The team, which consists of Bibisara Assaubayeva, Diana Saduakassova, Zhansaya Abdumalik, Meruert Kamalidenova, and Alua Nurmanova, became third after China and India.
Overall, Kazakhstan has ten gold medals, 20 silver and 45 bronze medals, placing the nation on the fifth spot in the ranking.
