ASTANA – Nazym Kyzaibay, a 30-year-old Kazakh boxer, won a bronze medal in her first Olympic Games on Aug. 6, reported the National Olympic Committee.
Nazym Kyzaibay. Photo credit: Turar Kazangapov/olympic.kz
Kyzaibay reached the semifinals in the women’s 50-kilogram boxing category, where she faced world champion Yu Wu from China. Despite her efforts, Kyzaibay lost with a score of 4:1.
This is Kazakhstan’s third bronze at the Olympics. Overall, the nation has five medals.
“It hurts me that it happened this way. I wanted to win gold. Before the Olympics, Abiba [a Kazakh judoka] and I agreed that we would be the first Kazakh champions in our sports. However, it didn’t work out. The Chinese woman fought well, and I couldn’t show what I was capable of in the ring. I didn’t give it 100%,” she said.
National Olympic Committee President Gennady Golovkin congratulated Kyzaibay on her achievement, highlighting her as an inspiration for young athletes and a reminder to them that determination and hard work pay off.
“For many years, Nazym has been one of the brightest representatives of women’s boxing, a team leader, and despite her debut Olympics, she managed to prove once again that she is one of the strongest athletes in the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Greco-Roman wrestler Demeu Zhadrayev, 34, will compete for the gold medal in the 77-kilogram category. In the semifinals, Zhadrayev defeated Azerbaijan’s Sanan Suleymanov with a score of 6-1. The final will take place on Aug. 7, where he will face Nao Kusaka from Japan.
Demeu Zhadrayev. Photo credit: Turar Kazangapov/olympic.kz
On Aug. 6, in the qualification seeding runs, Amir Maimuratov from Kazakhstan set an Olympic record in the men’s sport climbing competition with a finishing time of 4.89 seconds. Though that time didn’t stand long, later smashed by Veddriq Leonardo from Indonesia with 4.79 seconds and Sam Watson from the United States with 4.75 seconds.
Amir Maimuratov. Photo credit: Sali Sabirov/olympic.kz
Maimuratov will face Reza Alipour of Iran in the quarter-finals on Aug. 8.
Kazakhstan’s track and field athlete Norah Jeruto finished ninth in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase finals with a time of 9:08.97, placing her in the top ten.
