The week in sport: Asian Para Games, Kairat's heavy defeat and Bublik without a match

A hockey match at Halyk Arena in Almaty — Illustrative photo. Source: Galenkovsky / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The week of 17–23 October played out on three fronts for Kazakh sport. In Japan the team kept collecting medals at the Asian Para Games, reaching 47 by the seventh day. In Almaty the region's only ATP tournament was under way, and the country's number one reached the quarterfinals without playing a match. In football the week ended with Kairat's 1-5 home defeat in European competition and a public complaint from futsal broadcast workers about unpaid fees.

Below are the week's main stories by sport and what comes next.

Para sport: a record Asian Para Games and a world champion

The week's main sports story was the 5th Asian Para Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan. By the seventh day of competition Kazakhstan had 47 medals: 12 gold, 15 silver and 20 bronze. The para-cyclists are doing best, with 4 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze, the fourth-best result of all teams in the sport. Aisulu Suleimenova set an Asian record, and the sitting volleyball team reached the final after coming back from two sets down against Iraq in the semifinal.

Away from the Games, Maxim Bogatyrev won the para canoe world championship in Argentina over 8.2 km, finishing 9 minutes 11 seconds ahead of the silver medallist.

Note. In para sport athletes are divided into classes by type and degree of impairment so that equals compete: for example, class B in cycling is for visually impaired athletes who ride a tandem with a sighted pilot.

Football: Europe, Atlético and futsal debts

Kairat began the Conference League league phase with a 1-1 draw against Riga, and on 22 October at the Central Stadium lost 1-5 to Panathinaikos: the Greeks scored five by the 75th minute and the hosts replied once. After two rounds the Almaty side have one point and their opponents six; the next match is against Atalanta on 5 November.

The same day President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Atlético Madrid chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín and awarded him the Order of Dostyk, second class. The head of state said the privatisation of most football clubs is continuing and more than 100 children's pitches are being built together with FIFA. In Astana more than 800 children train year-round at an indoor complex seating 3,600.

Against this backdrop, staff of the Sport Innovation studio, which filmed the futsal championship, appealed to federation president Marat Omarov: they have still not been paid for their work from January to April.

A week in which the President discussed the future of Kazakh football with Atlético ended with the question of who will pay for its present.

Hockey: Barys stay in the top three

On 17 October Barys beat Sibir 1-0 in Novosibirsk, ending their three-game winning run, and on 21 October in Vladivostok lost to Admiral 4-5 in overtime despite scoring four. It was their second defeat in a row; with 21 points the Astana team are third in the Eastern Conference. Their next game is on 26 October against Avtomobilist in Yekaterinburg.

Tennis: Almaty Open

The ATP 250 tournament with $1.08m in prize money runs in Almaty from 19 to 25 October. Third seed Alexander Bublik reached the quarterfinals without playing: he had a first-round bye, and his second-round opponent, Fabian Marozsan, withdrew through illness. On 23 October Bublik plays Karen Khachanov, with their head-to-head at 1-1. Timofey Skatov lost to Marozsan in the first round, and Bublik and Zangar Nurlanuly lost in the first round of the doubles.

Wrestling, chess, sports education and traditional sports

Nurasyl Medeu, founder of the Kazakh National University of Sport, announced that he is handing the university over to the state free of charge; according to him, founder's grants already awarded will be kept in full and the money for the entire period of study is already in the university's account.

Merey Bazarbayev became world champion in freestyle wrestling up to 57 kg among athletes under 23. FIDE and Kazakhstan Chess Federation president Timur Turlov named getting chess into the Olympic programme as his goal and said Kazakhstan would join the top ten chess nations within four years. In Zerendi district, Akmola region, the international Qansonar eagle-hunting tournament drew participants from five countries.

What next

On 24–29 October the archery team competes at an Asia Cup stage in Iraq; on 26 October Barys play in Yekaterinburg; on 25 October the Almaty Open ends; the Asian Para Games continue, with the sitting volleyball team playing for gold. On 5 November Kairat host Atalanta, and on 7 November SHYMKENT PARK LEAGUE starts in Shymkent, a competition between city parks that residents can join for free.

List of sources used

Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.

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