Kazakhstan's men's national team lost the water polo final to Japan 7:24, winning the silver medal of the Asian Games for the first time. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The finalists of the men's water polo tournament had already met at this Asian Games. In the first match of Group A, the hosts of the sports forum won 19:11. In that game, the Japanese took the lead immediately and pulled away by the big break.

The gold medal match followed a similar scenario. The Kazakhstanis could not hold back the opponents' fierce onslaught, who overwhelmed them with the power of their attacks. Nemanja Knežević's charges scored their first goal at 0:9, when the outcome of the match was beyond doubt. Mikhail Ruday stood out. He also scored the next three goals for Kazakhstan – 2:10, 3:14 and 4:15. The game ended in a resounding victory for the Japanese, who won Asian Games gold for the sixth time.

The bronze medals went to China, which was defeated by Kazakhstan in the semifinals. In the match for third place, the Chinese beat Iran 13:9.

🏐 JAPAN – KAZAKHSTAN 24:7 (5:0, 8:2, 5:2, 6:3)

The men's water polo tournament at the Asian Games has been held since 1951. Kazakhstani water polo players have won it six times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018). And twice more (2006, 2022) they became bronze medalists. They became silver medalists of the Asian Games for the first time. Having let Japan ahead in the medal table for the entire history of the Asian Games.

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

On the first day of the Games, Kazakhstanis won four gold medals. The champions of the Games were cyclists Rinata Sultanova and Alexey Lutsenko, as well as karateka 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. The ninth gold medal was won on September 27 by our team of epee fencers. On October 2, gold was won by boxers Torekhan Sabyrkhan and Aibek Oralbay, as well as taekwondo athlete Tamirlan Tleules.

After 13 days of the Games, Kazakhstan was in eighth place in the unofficial medal standings.

Asian Games 2026 reviews: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12