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Boxing

Kazakhstan’s Golovkin Becomes World Boxing President

Gennadiy Golovkin, the two-time middleweight world champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist for Kazkhstan, was named president of World Boxing at the federation's inaugural congress in Rome on Sunday. Golovkin, who has been president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee since last year, will lead the amateur boxing federation into the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He succeeds Boris van der Vorst, a Dutch national who was the first president of World Boxing. “I feel great. I feel more excited. Right now, we have a new team, new view,” Golovkin said after his election to the post. “I have a plan. I have ideas, so many. My goal is bringing boxing’s position back to a high level.” The World Boxing federation was launched in 2023 to address concerns about transparency and governance in amateur boxing that had placed the future of the sport at the Olympics in doubt. That year, the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, expelled the International Boxing Association, the former governing body of amateur boxing, from the Olympic movement because of those corruption concerns. World Boxing, the new amateur boxing federation, has been collaborating with the IOC and said that, by January of this year, it had approved membership applications from 60 national boxing federations around the world. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Golovkin. “He has become the first representative of Kazakhstan to lead an international federation of an Olympic sport,” Tokayev said. “This landmark achievement is a testament to the global recognition of Gennady Golovkin’s outstanding accomplishments and his great contribution to boxing worldwide.”

Boxing

Uzbek boxer Mullojonov Gets Three-Year Suspension for Doping Violation

Uzbek heavyweight boxer Lazizbek Mullojonov, who won Olympic gold in Paris last year, has been suspended from amateur bouts for three years because of doping, the International Testing Agency said. “The athlete tested positive for the prohibited substance methasterone metabolites after providing an out-of-competition sample on 11 June 2025,” the agency said in a statement on Friday on behalf of World Boxing, which governs international amateur boxing. Methasterone is a steroid that enhances muscle and strength. The agency said Mullojonov, 26, has agreed to the suspension, which was reduced by one year from the standard period of four years “due to his early admission” of the anti-doping violation. The agency is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The suspension is retroactive to July 22 of this year, when Mullojonov was provisionally suspended pending the outcome of an investigation, and runs until July 21, 2028. The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles take place from July 14-30. Under the ruling on Friday, Mullojonov’s competitive results between June 11 of this year, the date of a sample collection, and July 22 are disqualified. The Uzbekistan Boxing Federation had said Mullojonov may have ingested “prohibited doping substances” during a hair transplant last year. It said the surgery occurred on November 19, 2024, at a private clinic in Fergana city in Uzbekistan after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athlete may have taken medications containing banned substances that were provided by the clinic during the treatment. Mullojonov also won gold in the super-heavyweight category at the Asian Championships in 2022. Despite the suspension from amateur competition, Mullojonov can compete in some professional fights, including one in which he defeated Nigerian boxer Monyasahu Muritador in Tashkent on Friday.

Sports

Retired Kazakhstani, 66, Finds Calling as Long-Distance Swimmer

Askar Ospanov, a retired police major general in Kazakhstan, decided to become a serious swimmer relatively late in life, around the age of 60. Inspiration came when he was cheering from the sidelines at the 2018 Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, an annual event in which about 2,500 people swim 6.5 kilometers from the Asian shore to the European side of Istanbul. Ospanov's eldest son, Galym, himself an accomplished athlete, had completed the crossing in one hour and 18 minutes. A favorable current means many swimmers log fast times across the Bosphorus. “Then, about 30–40 minutes later, everyone on the shore suddenly started buzzing. I thought maybe someone had drowned… or perhaps Erdoğan (the president of Turkey) had arrived. I told my kids, ‘Find out what’s going on, quickly!'” 66-year-old Ospanov said. It turned out that beloved Turkish swimmer Levent Aksüt, then in his late 80s, had just finished. “Everyone stood and applauded his achievement,” said Ospanov, who saw Aksüt as a role model for his new passion. In September, the Kazakhstani swam about 15 kilometers across the Strait of Bonifacio, from the French island of Corsica to the Italian island of Sardinia, in seven hours and 50 minutes. He has competed in international open-water swimming competitions, including OCEANMAN and X-WATERS events, in numerous places at various distances. He has won prizes in the 60+ category in Dubai, Thailand, at Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan and in Kazakhstan, a landlocked country with big lakes and reservoirs. “If someone wants to start swimming after 60, it’s absolutely necessary to do stretching exercises. The arms and legs will gradually loosen up!” Ospanov said. “Since childhood, I played volleyball,” the Almaty resident said. “Then my knees started hurting, and I couldn’t play volleyball at full strength anymore. Doctors said that for the knee joints, you need movement without load… That meant either cycling or swimming. I didn’t feel like buying a bike, so I chose swimming. With each passing year, swimming gave me more and more strength. Gradually, the results started coming.” Swimming coach Evgeny Alexandrov, who has been awarded the prestigious Master of Sport of International Class title by Kazakhstan’s government, has worked with Ospanov for several years. The coach described his student as tough, punctual, and responsible. However, Alexandrov said, “turning him into an ideal swimmer quickly isn’t possible due to age-related limitations and some acquired health issues,” including knee pain and a right arm weakened by years of playing volleyball, which meant he only breathed on his left side in the pool. “When he was learning to swim, he couldn’t breathe every three strokes — he only inhaled on his left side, resulting in an asymmetrical freestyle stroke with excessive body roll. In open water, if the sun and waves are on the left, it becomes difficult for Askar,” the 44-year-old coach said. Ospanov had that problem to some extent in the Strait of Bonifacio, where proper alignment in the water can offset the challenges of wind, waves and current. “At his...

tennis

Kazakhstan’s Bublik Wraps Best Season as Alternate at ATP Finals

Alexander Bublik’s stellar season isn’t quite over. The Russia-born player from Kazakhstan, ranked 11 in the world, is an alternate at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy this week. Bublik is enjoying himself in Turin, leaving Carlos Alcaraz flat-footed with a spinny underhand serve during a training session with the Spaniard. “Who said practice can’t be fun?!” the Kazakhstani said on Instagram. As first alternate, 28-year-old Bublik could play matches if any of the eight players at the elite event gets injured during the round robin stage. Whatever happens, he has enjoyed his best year as a tennis professional. He won four tour titles in 2025, for a total of eight during his career. He reached the quarterfinals at the French Open this year, falling to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. It was Bublik’s deepest run at a major tournament and came after a ranking as low as 82 earlier in the year. He also reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal with a three-set win over Alex de Minaur in Paris on October 31. “Honestly I always say that wins don’t make me go through the roof and losses don’t put me to the ground,” Bublik said this year, according to the ATP. “I try to stay stable. I enjoy what I do. I’m happy that I’m able to travel, play tournaments and stay healthy, and the wins are coming… That’s beautiful.” On the women’s side, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday to win the WTA finals for the first time, collecting a record $5.23 million in prize money and 1,500 ranking points.

Sports

Gennady Golovkin Unveils Presidential Program for World Boxing

Gennadiy Golovkin, the former world champion and current head of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee, has officially presented his program as a candidate for the presidency of World Boxing. World Boxing was established in 2023 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the International Boxing Association (IBA) from organizing Olympic qualifying events, and raised the possibility of removing boxing from the Olympic program entirely. Golovkin, known globally by his ring name GGG, was appointed chairman of the World Boxing Olympic Commission in late 2024. Under his leadership, the new organization secured IOC accreditation to oversee Olympic qualifying events for the 2028 Games. The current president of World Boxing, Dutch official Boris van der Vorst, will conclude his term at the end of November 2025. He has announced he will not seek re-election. On November 23 in Rome, representatives from 125 national boxing federations affiliated with World Boxing will vote to elect a new president, vice president, and board members. Golovkin has been nominated for all three roles. His sole opponent in the presidential race is Mariolis Charilaos of Greece. On Friday, November 7, Golovkin published his official campaign platform. According to the document, available via the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation’s social media channels, Golovkin’s proposals center on athlete representation, governance transparency, and digital innovation. If elected, he plans to establish a World Boxing Athletes’ Council in 2026 with voting rights on the Executive Board, and to protect athletes’ rights through the implementation of an independent judging system. Golovkin also aims to launch a World Boxing Academy for athletes and coaches, covering anti-doping education, mental health awareness, and refereeing standards. The academy would also assist boxers in transitioning to post-athletic careers and offer targeted grant support. A key element of his platform is the use of artificial intelligence. Golovkin proposes AI-assisted refereeing and the creation of a digital platform called Digital Ringside, which would publish real-time bout data, athlete profiles, and explanations of judging decisions, serving as a transparency tool for the media and public. In addition, Golovkin advocates for the annual publication of audited financial reports and the development of sponsorships with international brands aligned with Olympic values to support amateur boxing. “As chairman of the World Boxing Olympic Commission, I worked with partners to expand our membership base. Thanks to those efforts, we achieved provisional recognition and preserved boxing’s place in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program,” Golovkin said. “If you place your trust in me, I will continue working to safeguard boxing’s Olympic future, not only for 2028, but for generations to come and to secure full IOC recognition for World Boxing.” As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, World Boxing held its first amateur world championship in 2025, where Kazakhstan topped the team standings.

Sports

Kazakhstan’s Rybakina Defeats World No. 1 Sabalenka for WTA Finals Title

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan didn’t make it past the round-robin stage in two previous appearances at the WTA Finals. On Saturday, she defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (0) to win the elite competition for the first time, collecting a record $5.23 million in prize money and 1,500 ranking points. Russia-born Rybakina, 26, was unbeaten in the eight-player tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that the WTA describes as the “crown jewel” of women’s tennis, winning matches against Amanda Anisimova, 2023 WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek, alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jessica Pegula. Rybakina improved to 6-8 in her head-to-head against Belarusian Sabalenka, who was also undefeated in her path to the final. “Because the singles finalists are coming into this match undefeated, the champion will take home $5.23 million, the largest payout in women's sports history,” the WTA said ahead of the final. It also said: “An undefeated tournament results in 1,500 ranking points.” Sabalenka won this year’s U.S. Open and reached the Australian Open and Roland Garros finals. Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, had won two WTA 500 titles but did not advance past the fourth round at any of the majors this year. She picked up momentum on faster surfaces in the late-year Asian swing with her big serve, and hammered 15 aces in a three-set victory over American Pegula in the semifinals in Riyadh. The WTA Finals were played on indoor hard courts at the King Saud University Indoor Arena. As champion, Rybakina joins Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Serena Williams and other luminaries who have won the season-ending event.