By Dana Omirgazy,Fatima Kemelova
Copyright astanatimes
ASTANA — Aidos Sultangali secured the gold medal in the men’s 60-kilogram weight category in Greco-Roman wrestling on Sept. 20 at the World Championships held in Zagreb, Croatia, defeating Alisher Ganiyev of Uzbekistan in the final.
This victory marks Kazakhstan’s first gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the World Championships of the 21st century, 26 years after Mkhitar Manukyan won in the 63-kilogram weight category in Athens in 1999, reported the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s press service on Sept. 20.
Since then, prominent Kazakh wrestlers such as Almat Kebispayev, Meirambek Ainagulov, Demeu Zhadraev, Korlan Zhakansha, and Yerzhet Zharlykasyn came close but did not claim gold. Overall, Sultangali is the tenth Kazakh wrestler to reach the World Championship final in this discipline since Kazakhstan gained independence. Sultangali had previously earned two bronze medals at World Championships.
Greco-Roman wrestling remains one of the most popular sports in Kazakhstan. These achievements reflect the country’s strong state support and the development of advanced training infrastructure for wrestling.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev extended his congratulations to Sultangali on his victory.
“Congratulations to Aidos Sultangali on his brilliant triumph at the World Championships! He has become our first Greco-Roman wrestling world champion of this century. I wish our athletes continued success,” he wrote.
