Kazakh freestyle wrestler Nurkozha Kaipanov won a silver medal at the World Championships in Astana. In the final of the 74 kg weight category, he lost to Russia's Inalbek Sheriev by a score of 4:10. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Kaipanov was the only member of Kazakhstan's national team to reach a final at the home world championship across all three wrestling styles.
On his way to the decisive bout, the Kazakhstani athlete secured four victories. At the start, he defeated Egzon Khoni of Kosovo early – 10:0, then beat Azerbaijan's Turan Bayramov – 4:0. In the quarterfinal, Kaipanov crushed Tajikistan's Viktor Rassadin – 11:0.
In the semifinal, the Kazakh freestyler proved stronger than Japan's Yoshinosuke Aoyagi – 3:1 and advanced to the final against Sheriev. The Russian in his semifinal defeated Slovakia's Taimuraz Salkazanov by the same score.
The silver in Astana became the fourth World Championships medal for the 28-year-old Kaipanov.
He won his first world championship award also in Astana in 2019, when he became a silver medalist in the 70 kg category. In 2024 in Tirana, Kaipanov became world champion for the first time.
In 2025, the Kazakhstani added bronze from the World Championships in Zagreb to his collection. In the bout for third place, he defeated Moldova's Vasile Diacon early – 13:2.
Thus, at world championships Kaipanov now has one gold, two silvers and one bronze. At the same time, he won his first three medals in the 70 kg category, while the silver at the home 2026 World Championships became his first award at a world championship in the Olympic weight of 74 kg.
The silver earned by Kaipanov is the only medal for our freestyle wrestling team at this world championship. Asyl Aitakyn also had a chance for a medal, but he lost in the bronze medal bout.
In Greco-Roman wrestling, Kazakhstan's team with three bronze awards took 12th place in the unofficial medal standings. They were won by Iskhar Kurbaev (55 kg), Aidos Sultangali (60 kg) and Bagdat Sabaz (67 kg).
The only medal for Kazakhstan in women's wrestling at the tournament was won by Zeinep Bayanova. In the 50 kg category, she became a bronze medalist. Earlier, Nilufar Raimova, Zhamilya Bakbergenova and Altyn Shagayeva also reached the third-place bouts but lost to their opponents.
The World Wrestling Championships were held in Astana at Barys Arena from October 24 to November 1, with the participation of almost 900 athletes from about 100 countries. Kazakhstan hosted the adult world championship for the first time since 2019. Our team was represented by a full roster of 30 athletes.