Kazakh fencers, who became world champions in Hong Kong, were welcomed at home. The athletes, who won the country's first-ever world championship gold, were warmly greeted by fans, relatives, friends, and media representatives. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
On behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the national team was welcomed by Ruslan Yesenalin, Chairman of the Committee for Sports and Physical Culture. He congratulated the athletes and coaching staff on their outstanding achievement, noting that this victory was the result of systematic work in developing fencing, the high professionalism of athletes and coaches, and effective cooperation between the state and the national federation.
At the World Championships in Hong Kong, the Kazakh team consisting of Yerlik Sertay, Ruslan Kurbanov, and Vadim Sharlaimov confidently navigated the entire tournament, defeating Finland (45:39), Uzbekistan (28:27), Denmark (45:36), and Egypt (41:32), and in the final beat Ukraine 45:40, winning the gold medals of the world championship for the first time in Kazakhstan's history.
As ministry representatives noted, this historic victory was a natural result of the consistent development of the national fencing school. In recent years, this particular national team lineup has shown stable results at major international competitions.
Kazakh epee fencers won gold at the World Cup stage in Istanbul (2023), became winners of the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh (2025), won the Asian Championship in New Delhi (2026), and also became bronze medalists at the World Championship, defeating one of the strongest teams in the world — France — in the decisive bout.
Following the World Championship, the Kazakh team rose to third place in the world rankings, behind only Switzerland and France.
An important part of the team's preparation was targeted work to strengthen the coaching staff.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated the men's national epee fencing team on their victory at the World Championships in Hong Kong.
The head of state noted that the first-ever gold won by Kazakh epee fencers was a vivid testament to their highest sporting skill, strength of character, and true team spirit.
The World Fencing Championships were held for the 71st time and for the first time in Hong Kong. Twelve sets of medals were contested at the tournament. The prize fund of the 2026 World Championships was $1.02 million.