ASTANA – Kazakh freestyle wrestler Nurkozha Kaipanov secured the gold medal at the 2024 World Wrestling Championships in non-Olympic weight divisions, held on Oct. 28-31 in Tirana, Albania, reported the National Olympic Committee.
Competing in the 70-kilogram category, Kaipanov defeated Japan’s Yoshinosuke Aoyagi with a score of 5:3, earning his first world championship gold. Previously, he won silver at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Astana.
Kaipanov’s victory made him Kazakhstan’s second world champion in freestyle wrestling, following Rizabek Aitmukhan, who won the 92-kilogram category in 2023.