Kazakhstan's water polo team defeated Hong Kong 29:15 (8:3, 9:4, 6:1, 6:7) in the second round of the Asian Games in Japan. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Setback at the start

In the opening match of the water polo tournament, the Kazakh team lost to the hosts of the Asian Games. The five-time champions of the Games overcame the six-time champions 19:11.

Match against Hong Kong

Today, the squad coached by Montenegrin specialist Nemanja Knežević performed much more successfully. After the first period, Kazakhstan was already leading 8:3. Before the final quarter, the Kazakh team extended the gap to 15 goals. In the end, they won with an almost two-fold advantage in the score – 29:15.

Path to the playoffs

All eight participating teams will advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Group matches determine the seeding of teams in the playoffs.

🏐 THAILAND – HONG KONG 15:24, JAPAN – KAZAKHSTAN 19:11, KAZAKHSTAN – HONG KONG 29:15

🏐 SOUTH KOREA – CHINA 15:14, IRAN – SINGAPORE 19:8

Tournament history

The men's water polo tournament at the Asian Games has been held since 1951. Kazakh water polo players have won it six times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018). They also became bronze medalists twice (2006, 2022).

About the 2026 Asian Games

The XX Summer Asian Games officially opened on September 19 and will end on October 4. Athletes from 45 countries are competing for 460 sets of medals. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games includes 558 athletes in 35 sports.

Kazakhstan's medal successes

On the first day of the Games, Kazakhstan won four gold medals. The champions of the Games were cyclists Rinata Sultanova and Alexey Lutsenko, as well as karatekas Zholaman Bigabyl and Sofya Berultseva. The fifth gold was added to the team's tally by MMA fighter Yerkingali Burkutalin. The sixth – by his teammate in mixed martial arts Kadyrbek Shynbayev. On September 23, Lutsenko became a two-time champion of the 2026 Asian Games. The eighth gold medal was won on September 24 by rowers Vladislav Yakovlev and Ivan Chernukhin in the men's coxless pairs competition. Yassmina Toksanbayeva today won the ninth gold in race walking.

After seven days of the Games, Kazakhstan was in fifth place in the unofficial medal standings.