Aidos Sultangali and Iskhar Kurbaev will fight for bronze medals at the wrestling World Championships, which started today, October 24, in Astana. On the first competition day, four Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestlers took to the mat. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Sultangali's path
Reigning world champion Aidos Sultangali began the tournament in the 60 kg category with a victory over Russia's Anvar Allakhyarov – 4:3. The Kazakh was trailing 0:3 but managed to turn the match around.
In the quarterfinal, Sultangali defeated Azerbaijan's Murad Mammadov – 4:1.
For a place in the final, the Kazakh faced Japan's Koto Gomi. The bout ended in a defeat for Sultangali – 1:5. Therefore, tomorrow, October 25, he will compete in the bronze medal match.
In 2025, Sultangali won gold at the world championships in Zagreb.
Kurbaev's performance
In the 55 kg category, Iskhar Kurbaev wrestled four bouts. At the start, he defeated Japan's Kagetora Okamoto – 5:2, and then overcame the second seed Ikhtiyor Botirov of Uzbekistan – 2:1.
In the quarterfinal, Kurbaev proved stronger than Artem Deleanu of Moldova – 5:1.
In the semifinal, the Kazakh lost to Iran's Payam Ahmadi – 1:7. Kurbaev, like Sultangali, will continue the tournament in the bronze medal bout.
Maulitkanov's result
Merey Maulitkanov in the 77 kg category crushed South Korea's Hyunjin Kang – 9:0, and then defeated the reigning world champion and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Malkhas Amoyan of Armenia – 4:2.
In the quarterfinal, Maulitkanov lost to Bulgaria's Stoyan Kubatov – 3:4. The Kazakh retained a chance to enter the repechage round, but for that Kubatov needed to reach the final.
The Bulgarian then lost to Alexandrin Gutu of Moldova, who advanced to the 77 kg final. As a result, Maulitkanov finished his performance at the World Championships.
Magomadov's bouts
Ibragim Magomadov (82 kg) started the tournament with a victory over Italy's Luca Dariozzi. The bout ended with a score of 3:3, and the Kazakh advanced on additional criteria.
In the 1/8 final, Magomadov met Asian champion Shahin Badagimofrad of Qatar and lost – 3:4. This was their second meeting this season: in the spring, the Qatari also defeated the Kazakh in the semifinal of the Asian Championships.
Badagimofrad lost in the next round to Turkey's Yuksel Saricicek – 2:10, so Magomadov lost the opportunity to enter the repechage bracket.
About the championships
The wrestling World Championships are being held in Astana at Barys Arena from October 24 to November 1 with the participation of almost 900 athletes from about 100 countries. Kazakhstan is hosting the adult world championships for the first time since 2019. Our team is represented by a full roster of 30 athletes.