Team Kazakhstan added three more medals to its tally on the third day of the Ulaanbaatar Open Ranking Series tournament in Mongolia. The national team secured one silver and two bronze medals across women's and men's freestyle wrestling competitions.
In the women's 76 kg weight category, Kazakhstan was represented by Gulmaral Yerkebayeva and Elmira Syzdykova. Both athletes were drawn into the same group. Irkebayeva lost her opening bout to an Indian wrestler, while Syzdykova started the tournament with a victory over a Mongolian opponent before falling to another wrestler from India in the semifinals.
Through the repechage round, Irkebayeva earned a chance to compete for bronze, where she faced fellow Kazakh wrestler Syzdykova. In an all-Kazakh bronze-medal match, Syzdykova emerged victorious to claim third place. The win also served as revenge for her defeat to Yerkebayeva at the Kazakhstan Cup earlier this year.
In the 55 kg category, Laura Almaganbetova remained in contention for a medal after losing her opening bout to a Japanese wrestler. She bounced back in the repechage round with a victory over a Romanian opponent but was defeated by a wrestler from Türkiye in the bronze-medal match.
Kazakhstan also competed in three freestyle wrestling weight categories. At 74 kg, Darkhan Yessengali opened the tournament with a win but was defeated by a Russian wrestler in the second round. He later lost to a South Korean opponent in the repechage, ending his medal hopes.
At 86 kg, Bolat Sakayev suffered an opening-round loss to Olympic champion Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria. After Ramazanov advanced to the final, Sakayev was pulled into the repechage. He successfully fought his way through the consolation rounds and defeated a Mongolian wrestler in the bronze-medal match to secure a place on the podium.
Another medal for Kazakhstan came in the 92 kg category, where Azamat Dauletbekov advanced to the final with victories over opponents from Kazakhstan, Iran, and India. In the gold-medal bout, he faced Russia’s Askhab Sadulaev and was defeated 6-3, finishing the tournament with a silver medal.
As a result, Team Kazakhstan concluded the third day of the Ulaanbaatar Open with three medals: silver for Azamat Dauletbekov and bronze medals for Elmira Syzdykova and Bolat Sakayev.
