The international ranking tournament Ulaanbaatar Open has concluded in the capital of Mongolia. On the final day of competition, freestyle wrestlers battled for medals in seven weight categories. Team Kazakhstan finished the day with five medals — two silver and three bronze.
In the 57 kg weight class, Meirambek Kartbay claimed a bronze medal. In the bronze-medal match, he secured a dominant 8–0 victory over Tajik wrestler Aiaal Belolyubskiy. Another Kazakh wrestler, Abzal Okenov, also competed for bronze but fell to his Indian opponent by a score of 3–6. Merey Bazarbayev was eliminated earlier in the tournament.
At 61 kg, Assyl Aitakyn advanced to the final, where he faced India’s Deepak Deepak. The Indian wrestler won the gold-medal bout 6–0, while Aitakyn finished the tournament with a silver medal. Adilet Almukhamedov added a bronze medal for Kazakhstan in the same weight category, defeating Russia’s Bair Bayadniev in the bronze-medal match. Asylzhan Yessengeldy exited the tournament after his opening bout.
In the 65 kg division, Adlan Askarov and Osimzhan Dastanbek represented Kazakhstan. Both wrestlers reached the bronze-medal matches but were unable to secure a place on the podium.
Kazakhstan’s representatives in the 70 kg category were unable to reach the medal rounds. Rodion Anchugin suffered a narrow 3–4 defeat to Kyrgyzstan’s Rustamzhan Kakharov, while Bagdaulet Akimzhan lost 6–9 to a Mongolian wrestler.
Shamsat Tair captured a bronze medal in the 79 kg weight class. In the bronze-medal bout, he defeated fellow Kazakh wrestler Nurdaulet Kuanyshbay by a score of 5–4. Earlier in the tournament, Tair advanced to the semifinals before suffering a technical defeat against an Iranian opponent.
In the 97 kg category, Nurdaulet Beken lost his opening match but was pulled back into the repechage after his opponent reached the final. He defeated a wrestler from Australia in the repechage round but was defeated 0–11 by a Chinese opponent in the bronze-medal match.
Another silver medal for Kazakhstan came from Edige Kassymbek in the heavyweight 125 kg division. On his way to the final, Kassymbek defeated opponents from South Korea (7–1), Poland (6–1), and Venezuela (2–2). In the gold-medal match, he was edged out 0–2 by India’s Dinesh Dinesh and finished the tournament as runner-up.
As a result, Kazakhstan’s freestyle wrestling team won five medals on the final day of the Ulaanbaatar Open. Silver medals were earned by Assyl Aitakyn (61 kg) and Edige Kassymbek (125 kg), while bronze medals went to Meirambek Kartbay (57 kg), Adilet Almukhamedov (61 kg), and Shamsat Tair (79 kg).
