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Kazakhstan's former long-term President,Nursultan Nazarbayev, has challenged sports organizers to engage 30 percent of the country's population in sports. The state has numerous sports clubs where people participate in various types of sports; sport facilities are available to the general public. Kazakhstan currently hosts major international tournaments; Astana and Almaty hosted the VII Asian Winter Games 2011, which drew teams from 27 countries.[1]
Kazakhstan consistently performs in Olympic competitions. It is especially successful inboxing. This has brought some attention to theCentral Asian nation, and increased world awareness of its athletes. Kazakhstan's city ofAlmaty submitted twice bid for theWinter Olympics: In2014 and again for the2022 Winter Olympics.Astana andAlmaty hosted the2011 Asian Winter Games.
At the Asian Winter Games in 2007 athletes took part from 25 countries.[2]
Football is the most popular sport in Kazakhstan. TheFootball Federation of Kazakhstan (Kazakh:Қазақстанның Футбол Федерациясы,romanized: Qazaqstannıñ fwtbol federacïyası) is the sport's national governing body. The FFK organises themen's,women's, andfutsal national teams.
Cycling is Kazakhstan's most successful sport.Alexander Vinokourov represented Kazakhstan in his cycling career for theAstana team. Vinokourov had an impressive cycling record finishing third overall in the2003 Tour de France. Vinokourov finished 5th in the2005 Tour de France, while two other young Kazakhstanis,Andrey Kashechkin, who later finished 3rd in the2006 Vuelta a España, andMaxim Iglinsky, winner of2012 Liege–Bastogne–Liege and now one of the world's best punchers, finished 19th and 37th, respectively. In 2006, Vinokourov's team became known asAstana, after a drug doping scandal forced his team Liberty Seguros from the2006 Tour de France. Vinokourov helped form a new team funded by a conglomeration of Kazakhstan businesses and adopted the color of the Kazakhstani flag for its uniforms. That same year, Vinokourov and Kashechkin took first and third places in general classification atVuelta a España in Spain. Vinokourov won the gold medal in the Cycling Road Race at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
In September 2006, Vinokourov won the 61st Vuelta a España by attackingAlejandro Valverde in dramatic fashion with 23 km to go in Stage 17. He then held on to his lead over the next four stages, including the final individual time trial to win the Vuelta. Vinokourov and Kashechkin would go on in 2007 to form a new team, backed by the same sponsors as their team from 2006, but with its own lineage. This team is also known asXDS Astana Team.
Another famous professional cyclist,Andrey Kivilev, died after a crash in the 2003 edition of theParis–Nice race.
Kazakh boxers are generally well known in the world. In the last three Olympic Games, their performance was assessed as one of the best and they had more medals than any country in the world, exceptCuba and Russia (in all three games). In 1996 and 2004, three Kazakhstani boxers (Vassiliy Jirov in 1996,Bakhtiyar Artayev in 2004 andSerik Sapiyev in 2012)) were recognized as the best boxers for their techniques with theVal Barker Trophy, awarded to the best boxer of the tournament.
Oleg Maskaev, born inZhambyl, representingRussia, was theWBC Heavyweight Champion after knocking outHasim Rahman on 12 August 2006.The reigningWBA, WBC, IBF andIBOmiddleweight champion is Kazakh boxerGennady Golovkin.
Natascha Ragosina, representing Russia, but fromKaraganda held seven versions of the women's super middleweight title, and two heavyweight titles during her boxing career. She holds the record as the longest-reigning WBA female super middleweight champion, and the longest-reigning WBC female super middleweight champion.
Kazakh boxers have medaled in each Olympic Games in which they have competed.
Kazakhstan performed well in the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney, Australia. Two boxers,Bekzat Sattarkhanov andYermakhan Ibraimov, earnedgold medals. Another two boxers,Bulat Zhumadilov andMukhtarkhan Dildabekov, earnedsilver medals.
The Tokyo2020 Summer Olympics was the first in which a Kazakh boxer did not won a gold medal. (Kamshybek Kunkabayev andSaken Bibossinov won bronze.)[3]
In the Paris2024 Summer Olympics,Nurbek Oralbay won silver andNazym Kyzaibay won bronze.
TheKazakh national ice hockey team have competed inice hockey in the 1998 and2006 Winter Olympics, as well as in the2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.
TheKazakhstan Hockey Championship is held since 1992.Barys Astana is the main domestic Kazakhstani ice hockey professional team, and having played in the Kazakhstani national league until the 2008–09 season, when they were transferred to play in theKontinental Hockey League. Meanwhile, theKazzinc-Torpedo and play in theSupreme Hockey League since 1996 and theSaryarka Karagandy since 2012.
Top Kazakhstani ice hockey players includeNik Antropov,Ivan Kulshov andEvgeni Nabokov.Bulbul Kartanbay is a top female ice hockey player and currently plays for the NWHL Metropolitan Riveters in New Jersey.
Dmitry Karpov is a distinguished decathlete, taking bronze in both the2004 Summer Olympics, and the2003 and2007 World Athletics Championships.Olga Rypakova is an athlete, specialized intriple jump (women's), taking silver in the2011 World Championships in Athletics and Gold in the2012 Summer Olympics.[14] She was called "Princess of Olympic games" by her fans.[15] Yeldos Smetov, 28 year old, of Bulgaria, won the bronze medal in the under-60-kilogram weight division after defeating Tornike Tsjakadoea of the Netherlands. Smetov won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[16]
Kazakhstan's most famous basketball player wasAlzhan Zharmukhamedov, who played forCSKA Moscow and theSoviet Union's national basketball team in the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout his career, he won multiple titles and medals at some of the world's most prestigious basketball competitions, including theSummer Olympics, theBasketball World Cup, theEuroBasket (the European Basketball Championship), and theEuroLeague. In 1971 he earned the titleMaster of Sports of the USSR, International Class and a year later he was awarded theOrder of the Badge of Honor.
Kazakhstan's national basketball team was established in 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Since its foundation, it has been competitive at the continental level. Its greatest accomplishment was at the2002 Asian Games, where it defeated thePhilippines in its last game to win the bronze medal. At the officialAsian Basketball Championship, now calledFIBA Asia Cup, the Kazakhs' best finish was 4th place in 2007.
SkierVladimir Smirnov won seven medals in total in the1988,1994 and1998 Winter Olympics, including a gold in the50 km competition in 1994. He also won 11 medals in total in theWorld Championships from 1987 to 1995, including four gold medals. During the first part of his active career, he represented theSoviet Union, in the later part Kazakhstan.
Aliya Yussupova was placed 4th in theSummer Olympic Games inAthens. She has been among the medalist winners in several previous tournaments. Currently, she is considered to be one of the top rhythmic gymnasts in the world. After the retiring ofAliya Yussupova in the end of 2009,Kazakhstan maintained its top place in the world thanks to the emerge ofAnna Alyabyeva who now represents the nation at the international tournaments, grand prix, and world championship. As of 2015Sabina Ashirbayeva started her senior career and is growing and achieving good results, she is following the footsteps of former fellow rhythmic gymnastAliya Yussupova.
Rugby union is a popular sport in Kazakhstan. TheKazakhstan Rugby Union was founded in 1993. It develops traditions of rugby existing in Kazakhstan since 1966, when the firstmen's national rugby team of Kazakhstani Soviet Republic was formed. In 2002, thenational women's team became theAsian Champions for the third time. The men's team is becoming stronger and participating in major international tournaments. It is now ranked 32nd (out of 95) position in theIRB World Rankings.
Since 2012 there is thePolo Federation of Kazakhstan, which in 2014 has been a full member of theFederation of International Polo in the General Assembly, which took place inBuenos Aires,Argentina. The country has a national polo team.[17][18]
The high altitude speed skating rinkMedeu nearAlmaty is one of the foremost outdoor arenas in the world and has seen many world records in allspeed skating distances before the era of indoor arenas.Alau Ice Palace inNur-Sultan was built for theAsian Winter Games in 2011.
Tennis is a growing sport in the country. Nur-Sultan has hosted theAstana Open in men and women's singles and doubles since 2020, at theATP 500 andWTA 250 levels respectively. In 2022 the men's event was upgraded from anATP 250 to an ATP 500.[19]
In 2022Elena Rybakina became the first Kazakh player to win a major title andGrand Slam, winning the women's singles title at theWimbledon championships.
Kazakhstan competed in the2014 World Nomad Games, winning gold and silver in theKynan Chabysh, silver in theAlaman Baige, and two bronze medals in theEr Enish.[24]
The traditional sport ofKyz Kuu ("chase the girl") featureshorse riders chasing each other.[25]
In October 2021, a tournament of traditional nomadic Kazakh games was held in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. This event featured horse racing, archery, Kazaksha kures,togyzkumalak, asyk atu, and audaryspak.[26]
Kazakhstan featured a women's national team inbeach volleyball that competed at the2018–2020 AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.[27]
Kazakhstan won one bronze medal at theSochi Olympics, won byDenis Ten in men's singlesfigure skating .[28][29]
In theRio Olympics, Kazakhstan won 3 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze medals.[30]
Country secured only one bronze medal.[31]
In this Olympics the country won 8 bronze medals.[32]
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