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Sports in Kazakhstan
By Moldir Nurazkhan
draws us for many reasons. It keeps us healthy and fit, teaches responsibility, gives us competition, excitement, creates communities… The list is endless! Kazakhstan is no exception for a sports community, so in this blog I’d like to share with my foreign friends about Kazakhs sports culture.
I think every Kazakh citizen would agree that the most popular sport in our country is soccer (we call it football though). I assume, the other reason, besides it’s fun, is that soccer requires lesser equipment than any other sports.
Anyways, Kazakhstan has 14 inner soccer teams which compete for the UEFA Champions League. It is held every year between the spring-fall season. Nowadays, the winning team is Karaganda’s FC Shakhter Karagandy.
Besides, Kazakhstan has national soccer team, which represents our country on international level. In 2002, Kazakhstan was adopted in the UEFA as an European country participant (West Kazakhstan (Atyrau, Aktobe and part of Mangistau regions) belong to Europe geographically). At the moment, Kazakhstan is participating in the qualifying tournament for UEFA Champions League 2014. Our country is in the same group with Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Austria and Faroe Islands. For more information and updates, refer to the official website of Kazakhstan National Soccer team at www.ffk.kz.
Boxing is the second most popular sport in Kazakhstan. Our Boxing Federation was formed in 1959 and has achieved a lot since then. Here are the achievements from the Olympic Games:
2000 – At the Sydney Olympics, Kazakhstan won 2 gold and 2 silver
2004 – At the Athens Olympics, Bakhtiar Artaev became an Olympic champion in welterweight and the second in the history of Kazakhstan’s boxing after Vasily Jirov to be awarded the most prestigious trophy in boxing; the Val Barker Cup.
2008- At the Olympics in Beijing, Bakhit Sarsekbayev became the Olympic champion in welterweight, and Erkebulan Shynaliev won a bronze medal in light heavyweight.
2012 – At the XXX Summer Olympic Games in London Serik Sapiev won the welterweight gold medal and became the third Kazakh boxer awarded “Val Barker Cup”. Adilbek Niyazymbetov won a silver award in light heavyweight, and Ivan Dychko bronze in super heavyweight. Held on for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, in women’s boxing tournament Marina Volnova won the bronze medal in middleweight.
