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Yerbol Khamitov

Kazakhstan Celebrates as Paralympic Champion Yerbol Khamitov Returns Home

Dozens of fans, some carrying balloons and bouquets, gathered at Astana’s international airport on Tuesday to welcome Paralympic champion Yerbol Khamitov after he won two medals for Kazakhstan at the Winter Games in Italy. The 28-year-old athlete, who lost part of his leg after being shot in the knee a decade ago, greeted supporters and thanked his coaches and state authorities for their support, which he said contributed to his international success. Khamitov won the biathlon pursuit race on March 13 and finished third in the cross-country skiing sprint on March 10, becoming the first Kazakhstani athlete to win two medals at a Winter Paralympics. “I am glad that I was able to fulfill my promise to raise our national flag on the podium,” he said on social media. “I am not stopping here. I have many plans and new goals ahead. I will make every effort to reach new heights.” Khamitov said he was told in the past that ‘“cross-country skiing is not a Kazakh sport”’ but he wanted to prove to himself and others that “anything is possible.” Khamitov, who competed in martial arts before and after his injury, made his Paralympic debut in Beijing in 2022. Last year, he won his first para biathlon world title at the championships in Pokljuka, Slovakia. The International Paralympic Committee had said he was “among the athletes to watch out for” at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The events ended on March 15. In Kazakhstan, the paralympian will receive the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars and other benefits for his achievements. Khamitov, who said he comes from a modest background and has experienced hardship, encouraged anyone with physical difficulties to get involved in sports. "I would like to encourage everyone who is currently in this situation, whether they've lost an arm or a leg, are visually impaired, or were born that way, to come and play sports with us," Khamitov told journalists after returning to Astana. His success at the Winter Games has been widely seen as an inspiration for athletes with disabilities in Kazakhstan.

tennis

Old Bublik? Classic Bublik? Kazakhstani Tennis Player Loses in California

It wasn’t so much the loss that alarmed some tennis fans, but the racket smash. After stellar results since mid-2025 that propelled him into the top 10, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik went out in the round of 32 at the Indian Wells tennis tournament to Rinky Hijikata, who is ranked outside the top 100. Bublik faded in the third after two tiebreaks, losing 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 to the Australian qualifier in the southern California desert on Monday. But a moment that distracted from the shot-making came when Hijikata tied the match at the end of the second set, hitting a smash into the open court. Bublik responded by pulverizing his racket, smashing it into the hard court five times in a reminder of past emotional eruptions that some people in the tennis world saw as undermining his potential. Tennis analyst Nikola Aracic said he thought Bublik had the potential to be in the top five but that recent disappointments, including a fourth-round wipeout by Australian Alex de Minaur at the Australian Open in January, were threatening his chances. “We’re seeing the ‘old Bublik’ unfortunately, and he is back in the trap of jester-maxxing on the court,” Aracic said on his YouTube channel, in reference to Bublik hitting an easy, putaway ball with his racket handle during the match against Hijikata. “NEVER CHANGE,” Tennis TV said on X, accompanying video of the stunt with a laughter emoji. “People on the internet love it and some of the major publications in the tennis world have praised this as ‘classic Bublik,’” Aracic said. “But I’m seeing this as something very negative” that, if continued, could relegate Bublik to a lower ranking as he loses focus. The Athletic, a sports journalism outlet owned by The New York Times, featured Bublik in an article this week that was titled: “How to smash a tennis racket: Style, control, damage, aggression — and danger.” The article says Bublik smashed his racket “with abandon and devastation,” though it notes that destroying rackets has a long history among the tennis elite. Russia-born Bublik, 28, started 2026 by winning the ATP tournament in Hong Kong and becoming a top 10 player for the first time. He won four titles last year after struggling early in 2025, matching his showman instincts with a surge up the rankings. After beating Bublik, Hijikata lost to Cameron Norrie of Britain in the round of 16 on Wednesday.

Sports

Kazakh Boxer Alimkhanuly Stripped of One of His Two Championship Titles

Kazakh boxer Zhanibek Alimkhanuly has been stripped of one of his two middleweight world championship titles following a doping case but has retained his second belt. The athlete will be eligible to return to the ring at the end of 2026 after serving a one-year suspension. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in December last year Alimkhanuly found himself at the center of a doping controversy less than a week before one of the most important fights of his career, a unification bout for three middleweight (up to 72.6 kg) titles against Cuban boxer Erislandi Lara. At that time, he tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. Following several months of proceedings, it was determined that the drug containing meldonium had been taken unintentionally. This finding allowed the potential period of disqualification to be reduced to one year. The suspension period began on December 2, 2025, the date of the boxer’s provisional suspension from competition. Accordingly, Alimkhanuly will be eligible to return to the ring on December 3, 2026. At the time of the ruling, the 29-year-old Kazakhstani held two world middleweight titles, under the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) versions. The WBO decided not to strip the Kazakh boxer of his championship belt. “Although the WBO has the authority to strip the champion of his title, we have concluded that, given all the circumstances and his status as a first-time offender, declaring the title vacant would not be proportionate to the punishment,” the organization said in a statement. In contrast, the IBF ultimately decided to strip the Kazakh boxer of his title. However, the decision was not taken directly because of the positive doping test. Rather, due to the suspension, the boxer will be unable to defend his title within the time frame stipulated by IBF regulations. Under the organization’s rules, a champion is required to defend his belt at least once every nine months. Alimkhanuly had been scheduled to defend his title on July 4, 2026, a date that is no longer feasible because of his suspension. As a result, the IBF Board of Directors declared the title vacant. The president of the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation, Rakhimzhan Yerdenbekov, said the situation should serve as a serious lesson for the athlete’s team. “I believe that this situation has been a major lesson for Zhanibek’s team. He will return to the ring even stronger and win all four world belts,” Yerdenbekov wrote on Instagram. The Alimkhanuly case is the second high-profile doping controversy in Central Asian boxing in a short period. Olympic champion Lazizbek Mullujonov of Uzbekistan was recently banned for three years for violating anti-doping rules.

Sports

Uzbekistan Continues Busy Sporting Year with Tashkent Judo Grand Slam

The 12,500-capacity Humo Arena in central Tashkent is preparing to host the OTP Group Tashkent Grand Slam 2026 this week. The three-day elite competition starts on 27 February. The event is the second stop on the 2026 World Judo Tour, following the Paris Grand Slam, and will feature 400 world-class judokas representing more than 40 countries. Home hopes are resting on the Olympic medallist and World champion Davlat Bobonov, while other high-profile competitors include Olympic champions Hidayat Hedarov and Zelym Kotsoiev from Azerbaijan, and the Georgian Lasha Bekauri. The Grand Slam is separated into 14 weight categories. Friday’s action focuses on the lighter weight classes, including the women’s 48kg and men’s 60kg divisions. On Saturday the competition switches to the middleweight categories, while the final day on Sunday features the heavyweights. Uzbekistan is quietly establishing itself as a host for judo tournaments, having previously hosted the 2022 Judo World Championships, and the Grand Slam for the last five years. Uzbek judo is on the rise, with Diyora Keldiyorova winning the country’s first ever gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “We look forward to welcoming the world’s best judokas to compete in Uzbekistan,” said Otabek Umarov, First Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan, and Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia. “It is a great honour for Tashkent to continue to host major international judo events, and we thank the International Judo Federation for their continued trust. Hosting the Grand Slam not only inspires the next generation of athletes but stands as a testament to Uzbekistan’s dedication to the sport.” The 2026 Judo Grand Slam comes at the start of a standout year for Uzbek sports. The country’s football team will make its first appearance at a FIFA World Cup at the tournament in North America this summer. Samarkand will host the World Triathlon Championship Series on 25-26 April, then the 46th Chess Olympiad in September. The World Aquatics Swimming World Cup comes to Tashkent in October. To ensure the spirit of judo remains accessible to all fans and aspiring athletes across Central Asia, the Humo Arena will offer free admission to the public for the duration of the event. For fans abroad, the competition will be broadcast live to a global audience via the JudoTV platform.

Winter Olympic Games

From Denis Ten to Mikhail Shaidorov: Kazakhstan’s Thorny Path to a Gold Medal at the Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy have officially come to a close. At the end of the competition, the Kazakh team won one gold medal and placed 19th in the overall medal standings. This is the country’s best result since 1994, when the team finished 12th at the Lillehammer Olympics, with skier Vladimir Smirnov winning gold. This time, Kazakhstan’s only medal was secured by figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov, who became the first Olympic champion in the history of Kazakh figure skating. It is not the country’s first Olympic medal in the sport, however: in 2014 figure skater Denis Ten won bronze. On February 14, Shaydorov paid tribute to Denis Ten, Kazakhstan's bronze medalist at the 2014 Olympics. “I think Denis Ten influenced not only me but also figure skating in Kazakhstan as a whole. He opened the door for many skaters, including me. And that is incredibly important. I hope that the medal I won today will open new doors for the younger generation, the children of Kazakhstan, who will know that there are no limits,” he said. Denis Ten, who tragically died at the hands of petty thieves in the center of Almaty, did much to popularize figure skating in Kazakhstan. He dreamed of opening his own school and founding an ice show for this purpose. Shaidorov is one of dozens of boys and girls inspired by the achievements of the Almaty native, who learned to skate at the Ramstor shopping center. The future champion took his first steps on the same rink. As residents often say, Almaty is a big village where everyone knows one another. In fact, there is limited accessible ice in Almaty, which is why Shaidorov was forced to train in the Russian city of Sochi, as Denis Ten had previously trained in Moscow. One of the defining stories behind the young skater’s journey is connected to his training. His father, Stanislav Shaidorov, a former professional figure skater and multiple national champion, helped him pursue his ambitions, including selling a car to invest in his son’s training. Stanislav is acquainted with Russian coach and Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov. In 2017, Urmanov held training camps in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, where young Mikhail Shaidorov performed his first double axel. “Six months later, we returned to Urmanov. He assessed Misha's progress. Over the course of a year, we learned all the triple jumps, but we had to constantly change rinks. We called every day to arrange a time, which was not always convenient for us. Finally, in the fall of 2018, we were faced with a choice: continue renting ice in Almaty at our own expense or move to Russia to train properly. I called Alexei Evgenievich. He said, ‘Okay, come on over.’ That same day, I sold my car, and the next day we bought tickets and flew to Sochi, where Urmanov works,” recalled Stanislav Shaidorov. Mikhail, who was 14 at the time, later said in an interview that he had asked his father to leave...

Motorsports

Uzbekistan’s Umarov Appointed to Board of World Motorsport Body

Otabek Umarov, the First Deputy Chairman of Uzbekistan’s National Olympic Committee, has become the first ever Central Asian to join the Senate of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body for motorsport and the federation for mobility organizations. Umarov’s appointment to the FIA Senate ensures that there will be a Central Asian voice at the highest level of the motorsport industry. The FIA’s Senate controls the overall governance of the FIA and oversees the Federation’s financial and administrative matters, covering both sport and mobility. Umarov is married to Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva, the youngest daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. He has spent several years as Deputy Head of the Uzbek State Security Service. In addition to his role at Uzbekistan’s Olympic Committee, Umarov is the Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). In recent years he has led the modernization of the country’s sports infrastructure, which will bring major international events to Uzbekistan this year. Samarkand will host the World Triathlon Championship Series (25-26 April) and the 46th Chess Olympiad (15-28 September), while the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup will be held in Tashkent on 8-10 October. Uzbekistan has also been named host of the 2029 Asian Youth Games. The country’s athletes are currently competing at the Winter Olympic Games in Milan.