Winter Olympic Games - The Times Of Central Asia

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Entrepreneurship

Founder of inDrive Sees Kindred Spirit in Olympic Champion’s Father

Years ago, Stanislav Shaidorov, a former figure skating champion of Kazakhstan, sold his car to help pay for his son Mikhail’s training on the ice. After Mikhail won Olympic gold this month, the older Shaidorov was presented with an Audi Q8 by a businessman who had done the same thing for a different cause. “This story is personal for me,” said Arsen Tomsky, founder and CEO of the ride-hailing app inDrive, which operates in dozens of countries. “I did the same twice in my life — once to pay salaries when my first company had no money, and once to send the Yakutia esports team to a national championship when we couldn’t afford the tickets,” Tomsky said on Instagram. Yakutia is in Russia. Tomsky was born in Russia, moved many employees to Kazakhstan after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and obtained Kazakhstani citizenship in 2023. Forbes Kazakhstan ranked Tomsky as the 11th richest business executive in the country in 2025. Kazakhstan has been celebrating 21-year-old Mikhail Shaidorov’s achievement at the Winter Olympics in Milan – his country’s first gold medal in figure skating. His father is also getting recognition as a pillar of support earlier in his son’s career, when success was far from assured. “As the father and first coach, he helped Mikhail take his first steps on the ice rink and was always by his son's side during the most difficult moments of life,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a ceremony in Astana for the gold medal winner and his key supporters. “You went together through the winding path leading to the high peak,” Tokayev said to Stanislav Shaidorov on Wednesday. “Now you are seeing the fruits of your hard work and sweat, being honored and respected.” Tomsky, the inDrive founder, said he could relate to Stanislav Shaidorov’s decision to give up his car for his son’s dream. “In moments like that, you don’t think about the car,” the executive said. “You think about the future and the people you believe in.”

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...

Winter Olympic Games

Kazakhstani Skater Denis Ten, Killed in 2018, Is Honored As Nation Celebrates Olympic Gold

After Olympic figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov won gold for Kazakhstan, he was quick to pay tribute to Denis Ten, a Kazakhstani who got the bronze medal in the same event at the 2014 Winter Olympics and was killed in an attempted robbery in Almaty four years later. It was a bittersweet moment. Shaidorov, 21, was basking in his extraordinary accomplishment in Milan, Italy last weekend even as he honored an inspiring figure whose violent death in 2018 shocked Kazakhstan, a country that was delighted when Ten made it onto the podium in Sochi, Russia. “I think my medal would have meant a lot to Denis Ten,” Shaidorov said in comments posted on social media by Kazakhstan’s Olympic team. “He opened the way for us. This path was thorny for him and for me. And I want to express my gratitude to Denis for what he did for our sport.” A pioneer of the sport in Kazakhstan, Ten skated as a boy at a shopping center rink in Almaty and later trained in Russia. He was a popular figure and had his own skating show called “Denis Ten and Friends.” Shaidorov followed a similar path, developed early skills in Almaty and, at one point, attending a master class led by Ten. Shaidorov received extensive training in Russia under Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov. While crediting Urmanov for helping him become a world class figure skater, Shaidorov bristles at the idea that he is closer to Russia than the country where he was born. "I was born, lived, and still live in Almaty, and I spend a lot of time in Kazakhstan, in my beloved city,” he said in an interview with the Russian outlet Sport24 last year. “But I started skating at the Ramstore shopping center, where many figure skaters got their start, including Denis Ten. It had one of the very first rinks in Kazakhstan.” Ten was fatally stabbed during a robbery attempt in Almaty. Two men were sentenced to long prison terms for his murder. Thousands, many weeping, turned out for Ten’s funeral at a sports venue. The skater was of Korean descent and he was also mourned in South Korea. Shaidorov, who wears teeth braces, has a disarming quality. He has skated in a bulky panda suit in exhibitions. He performed with assurance at the Olympics as other skaters, particularly the American favorite Ilia Malinin, made missteps. It was the first gold medal for Kazakhstan in any sport at a Winter Olympics since the games in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. Shaidorov skated to music performed by Kazakhstani singer Dimash Kudaibergen, who said he would give a car to the Olympian for his achievement. “You did not let down Denis, the pride of our country, my friend, your brother, whom our nation sadly lost,” the international star said in a video message to Shaidorov. “You fulfilled your duty to him, to the country, and to the people with honor and at the highest level.” Ten also skated at times to...

Winter Olympic Games

Figure Skater Shaidorov Delivers Gold for Kazakhstan at Winter Olympics

Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won his country’s first gold medal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics, while the favorite, Ilia Malinin of the United States, finished eighth after falling twice during his program. Secured with five quadruple jumps, Shaidorov's unexpected win in Italy on Friday also marked the first gold medal for Kazakhstan in any sport at a Winter Olympics since the games in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. In those games, Vladimir Smirnov came first in cross-country skiing. "To be honest, I still can't believe it. I struggled with myself throughout the season. This season was very tough for me,” Shaidorov said in comments posted on the Telegram channel of Kazakhstan’s Olympic team. “In competitions, I tried about three times to perform five consecutive quadruple jumps, but none were successful. But today, everything went well. I was lucky and managed to do it.” Shaidorov, 21, finished with a score of 291.58 in the men’s individual figure skating. Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato, both of Japan, won silver and bronze, with scores of 280.06 and 274.90, respectively. “The support from the fans in the stands was especially felt. Everything felt like a movie,” the gold medalist said. “This medal is very important both for me and for our country. I want figure skating to develop in Kazakhstan. I will put all my effort into this. I hope conditions will be created and opportunities given to the youth.” Shaidorov also paid tribute to Denis Ten, a Kazakhstani figure skater who won bronze at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014 and was killed in an attempted robbery in Almaty in 2018. Ten was 25 years old. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan congratulated Shaidorov, noting that sports fans and others at home are proud of his achievement. “The Head of State decided to award Mikhail Shaidorov the Order of "Barys" II degree, and also expressed gratitude to the coaching staff, the Figure Skating Federation, and the leadership of the relevant ministry for their work,” the presidency said. The award that the skater will receive is one of Kazakhstan’s highest state honors. Malinin, the two-time defending world champion, struggled through his program, causing the crowd to hush and gasp as it became apparent that he would not live up to expectations. Earlier in the games, Malinin helped the United States win a team gold medal with a performance that included a rare backflip. His Russia-born parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, skated at the elite level for Uzbekistan for many years. Malinin and Shaidorov embraced after the final results of the individual contest. The American congratulated the Kazakhstani skater.

Winter Olympic Games

Parents of Olympic Gold Medalist Ilia Malinin Skated for Uzbekistan

Known as the “Quad God,” American figure skater Ilia Malinin helped the United States win a team gold medal at the Winter Olympics with a performance that included a rare backflip. The young star is building on a family legacy: his Russia-born parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, skated at the elite level for Uzbekistan for many years. “It runs in the family,” the Olympic Games organization said on social media. Malinina, 53, and Skorniakov, 49, decided to compete in figure skating for Uzbekistan after its independence from the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. They represented the country at the Winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan in 1998 and Salt Lake City in the United States in 2002. Both were national champions in Uzbekistan and the couple coached each other at one point. They moved to the United States and got jobs as skating coaches in Virginia. Their pupils included son Ilia, who was born in the U.S. in 2004 and took up skating when he was a young boy. Malinin, 21, got the “Quad God” nickname because of his ability to perform the extremely difficult quadruple axel jump. But it was his team event backflip, a move that was once banned partly because it was considered too dangerous, that really fired up the crowd in Milan on Sunday. He stuck the landing on one skate. Tennis champion Novak Djokovic was in the audience and put his hands on his head in awe after Malinin’s daring maneuver on the ice. Malinin’s grandfather on his mother’s side was also a figure skater. His younger sister has also competed in the sport. His mother Tatiana Malinina said that she and her husband initially didn’t want their son to get serious about figure skating. After all, they were well aware of the time, sacrifice and dedication that is required to succeed at the highest level. “When our son was born, we were thinking, ‘Oh no, we’re not going to do this anymore,´” Malinina said in an International Skating Union interview. But young Ilia would show up at the skating rink, making his own programs to music. His parents taught him a few things but didn’t push him. Over time, the young boy’s talent, discipline and focus on excellence became apparent. Now Malinin is the two-time defending world champion. At a news conference last week, ahead of the Winter Olympics, he said he had been learning how to handle expectations and use them to channel his motivation and deliver on the ice. “I’m honestly thankful for all the pressure and the attention,” Malinin said.

Asian winter games

Almaty to Host 2029 Asian Winter Games

Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city nestled in the foothills of the Alatau Mountains, has been selected to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) has announced. The agreement was signed on February 6 in Milan, coinciding with the opening of the Winter Olympics. Almaty’s selection is credited largely to its robust existing sports infrastructure, much of which was developed for the 2011 Asian Winter Games, co-hosted by Almaty and Astana. Almaty also hosted the 2017 Winter Universiade, further demonstrating its capacity to stage major international sporting events. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports emphasized that the 2029 Games will rely on current facilities, avoiding the need for large-scale new construction. “The existing sports complexes allow competitions to be held in all sports included in the program of the Winter Asian Games,” the ministry said. The NOC of Kazakhstan noted that leveraging existing infrastructure and prior experience will ensure a cost-effective and efficient approach to hosting. Organizing a second edition of the Winter Asian Games is viewed as a strategic move to further develop Olympic sports in the country. “Hosting major international competitions, including the Asian Games, is of strategic importance for the country. It reflects the high level of trust placed in us by the international sports community and recognizes Kazakhstan’s potential,” said Gennady Golovkin, the head of the National Olympic Committee. He added that Almaty possesses all the necessary sports and urban infrastructure, eliminating the need for additional construction. Saudi Arabia had previously been awarded hosting rights for the 2029 Asian Winter Games but later postponed the event due to large-scale infrastructure developments and extended preparation timelines. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan placed fourth among 34 countries in the medal tally at the 2025 Asian Winter Games, securing 20 medals.