Kazakhstani athletes arrive in Paris ahead of Games
Kazakhstan’s delegation has arrived in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games where 80 of the nation’s athletes will compete in 25 sports including boxing, shooting and taekwondo.
Leading the team is boxing world champion Makhmud Sabyrkhan who was presented Kazakhstan’s national flag by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in their Olympic send-off.
“We have high hopes for you and all the people will root for you … Our athletes certainly returned to their homeland with awards. I am sure that you will continue this glorious path with honour, and your achievements will become a victory for all of Kazakhstan,” the president told the team ahead of the Games.
Taekwondo fighter Batyrkhan Toleugali, 17, will be the youngest participant from Kazakhstan who punched in his Paris ticket at the 2024 World Taekwondo Asian Qualification Tournament.
2024 Olympic Games: first #Kazakhstan‘s athletes set their foot into Olympic village in #Parishttps://t.co/7ZCLejHjIP@Paris2024
#Kazakhstan
#Olympics
#sport
@iocmedia— Kazinform (@kazinform_eng) July 20, 2024
Ten boxers will represent Kazakhstan and will cover all of the seven male weight categories; including twins Nurbek and Aibek Oralbay, Tokyo bronze-medallists Saken Bibossynov and Kamshybek Kunkabayev. The female team is represented by former world champion Nazym Kyzaibay, Asian Champion Karina Ibragimova and Valentina Khalzova.
Olympic veterans Yeldos Smetov and Vladislav Yakovlev will take part in the Games again. Smetov, who won bronze in Tokyo and silver in Rio, will compete in judo while four-time Olympian Yakovlev will represent the country in rowing. Canoeist Sergey Yemelyanov is back and determined to win a medal after finishing 12th at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“I am now much better psychologically and physically prepared for this Olympics. The preparation is going systematically. We took into account all the mistakes made in Tokyo,” Yemelyanov told Silk Way TV ahead of the Olympics.
“Representing the country in competitions is always a significant responsibility, but thanks to the support of our fans and coaches, it is much easier for us. The 500 meters in the double sculls is a sprint discipline where the entire race can be decided by a single second! This requires precise self-control. Therefore, you need to perform perfectly, demonstrating all your skills,”
Men’s recurve contender Ilfat Abdullin, who along with Alexandr Yeremenko and Dauletkeldi Zhangbyrbay made history by becoming the first national recurve team to take an Olympic spot at a continental championships, was one of the first members of the delegation to check in at the Olympic Village.
“The conditions are excellent, the atmosphere is Olympic-level, and everything is beautiful and cosy. However, I must reserve comment on the dining room.
“We have not yet had time to properly familiarize ourselves with the menu, but I believe it includes a variety of options to suit all tastes. In addition, there are food zones, coffee shops, and other amenities within the village,” he told Kazinform.