Kazakhstan's freestyle wrestler Nurkozha Kaipanov has become a bronze medalist at the 2026 Asian Games in the 74 kg weight category. In the bout for third place, he defeated India's Sagar Jaglan early. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Kaipanov immediately seized the advantage and scored five points. At a score of 5:0, the Kazakh wrestler pinned his opponent, after which the match was stopped.
For the 28-year-old wrestler, this Asian Games was the first of his career. Before the tournament in Japan, he had already won a world championship and become Asian champion three times.
On his way to the medal, Kaipanov defeated Pakistan's Inayat Ullah in the 1/8 finals, and then beat South Korea's Han Dae Gil in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Kazakh lost to Iran's Younes Emamichoghaei and earned the right to compete in the bronze medal bout.
Rizabek Aitmuzan and Nurdanat Aitanov did not reach the decisive bouts.
Earlier, freestyle wrestlers Nachyn Kuular and Edige Kasymbek won bronze medals, while Azamat Dauletbekov lost in the bout for third place.
In women's wrestling, Elmira Syzdykova won silver, and Zeinep Bayanova won bronze.
Kazakhstan's Greco-Roman wrestling team won one medal at the Asian Games. Meirzhan Shermakhanbet took bronze. Shamil Ozhaev and Islam Evloev stopped one step away from the podium.
The XX Summer Asian Games in Japan officially opened on September 19. In the competitions with the participation of athletes from 45 countries, 460 sets of awards are being contested. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games includes 558 athletes in 35 sports.
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