ASTANA – Kazakhstan has continued to build its medal haul at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the national team adding medals across athletics, fencing, shooting and canoeing after the opening days of competition.
Kazakhstan is represented by 558 athletes competing in 35 of the 43 sports on the programme. The Games run through Oct. 4.
At the moment of writing, Kazakhstan is fourth in the medal table with 25 medals: eight gold, eight silver and nine bronze. China leads with 76 golds, ahead of Japan that has 18 medals and South Korea – 10.
Kazakhstan won six medals, four of them gold, on Sept. 20, the first full competition day, the National Olympic Committee press service reported.
Cycling sets the pace
Alexey Lutsenko won the men’s individual time trial in 41:24.05, his fifth Asian Games gold and fourth straight title in the event after 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Alexey Lutsenko. Photo credit: National Olympic Committee
Rinata Sultanova won the women’s time trial. Sultanova completed the course in 36:23.72, finishing 4.86 seconds ahead of China’s Zhang Hao. South Korea’s Shin Chieun took bronze.
On Sept. 23, Lutsenko won the men’s road race, his second gold of these Games and sixth of his career, a Kazakh record for the summer Asian Games.
Before the current Games, the record belonged to Kazakh canoeist Konstantin Negodyayev, who became an Asian Games champion five times. He won three gold medals at Hiroshima 1994 and two more at Bangkok 1998.
In the men’s road race, Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Fedorov took silver.
Karate and mixed martial arts deliver
In karate, Zholaman Bigabyl won the men’s under-55 kilogram kumite, beating Uzbekistan’s Khumoyunmirzo Khalimov 9-1 in the final. It was his first Asian Games medal.
Zholaman Bigabyl. Photo credit: NOC
Sofya Berultseva took the women’s over-68 kilogram title.
Assel Kanay lost the women’s under-61 kilogram final to China’s Gong Li 2-8, securing a silver medal. Bella Samasheva and Nurkanat Azhikanov later won kumite bronzes.
In MMA’s Asian Games debut, Yerkingali Burkutalin won the 77 kilogram traditional-style final over Bahrain’s Muhammad Nabiev, and Kadyrbek Shynbayev took the 71 kilogram modern-style title over Tajikistan’s Behruz Khurshedzoda, both 3-0. Sanzhar Adilov added a bronze.
Rowing gold and a busy Thursday
Vladislav Yakovlev and Ivan Chernukhin won the men’s pair in 6:25.13, ahead of China and Uzbekistan, for Kazakhstan’s eighth gold. This is Kazakhstan’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in rowing.
Vladislav Yakovlev and Ivan Chernukhin won Kazakhstan’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in rowing. Photo credit: NOC
On Sept. 24, four silvers followed: Abdurashid Abdullayev in wushu sanda (75 kilogram), Milad Karimi in men’s floor exercise, Kirill Prokhodov in men’s épée, and Olga Shmeleva and Tatyana Tokarnitskaya in canoe sprint in the women’s K-2 500 meters.
Sergei Yemelyanov and Timofeш Yemelyanov took canoe-double bronze in 1:44.972.
Olga Shmeleva and Tatyana Tokarnitskaya. Photo credit: NOC
Silver and bronze depth
Kristina Morozova took silver in the half-marathon race walk in 1:35:25.
The women’s skeet team of Assem Orynbay, Zoya Piskun and Adel Sadakbayeva was second with 336 points, and Orynbay added individual bronze.
Assem Orynbay. Photo credit: NOC
Fencer Artem Sarkisyan won bronze after beating Olympic champion Do Gyeongdon 15-14 in the quarterfinals. Arlan Zhanabay’s triathlon bronze was the team’s first medal of the Games.
Near misses
The men’s gymnastics team and the mixed medley relay swimmers both finished fourth.
In athletics, Daisy Jepkemei was fourth in the 10,000 m with a season’s best 33:03.21. Boxers Torekhan Sabyrkhan and Alua Balkibekova won their openers and reached the quarterfinals.
More medals
Kazakhstan continued to expand its medal haul on Sept. 25, collecting several bronze medals in athletics, fencing and shooting.
Alina Chistyakova took bronze in the women’s heptathlon with 5,568 points, while Polina Ivanova cleared 4.15 meters to win bronze in the women’s pole vault. Ivanova’s result marked Kazakhstan’s first Asian Games medal in the event.
Alina Chistyakova. Photo credit: NOC
Kazakhstan also secured two fencing bronzes. The women’s épée team of Irina Bakaldina, Vladislava Andreeva, Darya Samodelkina and Sofia Nikolaichuk finished third, while the men’s sabre team also reached the podium. In shooting, Islam Satpayev won bronze in the men’s 50-metre rifle three-position event.
The medal tally grew further on Sept. 26. Sergey Yemelyanov and Rufina Iskakova won bronze in the mixed canoe double 500 meters, while Dmitry Kholmogorov added another bronze in the men’s kayak single 500 meters.
Sergey Yemelyanov and Rufina Iskakova. Photo credit: NOC
Kazakhstan’s women’s 50-meter rifle three-position team also secured bronze, adding to the country’s growing collection in shooting.
With competition continuing through Oct. 4, Kazakhstan remains in contention for further medals across boxing, athletics, shooting, canoeing, and gymnastics, among other disciplines. The country’s early performance has been marked by a combination of established champions, including Lutsenko and Berultseva, and athletes winning their first Asian Games medals.
At the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2022, Kazakhstan finished 11th with 10 golds and 80 medals in total. Eight golds after five days puts the team on pace to beat that.
The 20th Asian Games opened in Japan on Sept. 19, bringing together thousands of the continent’s top athletes. More than 15,000 athletes compete for medals in 469 events across 43 sports, spanning both Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines. Several competitions will also count toward qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games, either by awarding direct quota places or points toward Olympic rankings.
