Kazakhstan Wins 50 Medals at 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan
Kazakhstan finished ninth in the medal standings at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan, winning 50 medals, including 12 gold, 16 silver and 22 bronze, according to the country's Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 24KZ reports.
The national team improved on its performance at the previous Games in Hangzhou in 2023, where it won 41 medals, including eight golds. A total of 150 Kazakhstani athletes competed in 12 sports at the fifth Asian Para Games, held in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya from October 18 to 24.
Kazakhstan achieved its strongest results in Para judo, winning 13 medals — five gold, one silver and seven bronze — and topping the sport's team standings. Gold medallists included Ibragim Nurmakhanuly, Bexultan Kulmurza, Zhurkamyrza Shukurbekov, Aktolkyn Seilbekova and Zarina Raifova. Kazakhstani athletes also won nine medals in Para cycling, including four golds. Nail Yermukhambet and Anastassiya Kalaus each claimed two gold medals in road cycling events. Kalaus also earned silver in the women's 4,000-metre individual pursuit.
Para swimmer Dias Kenzhebek won gold in the men's 100-metre backstroke S10 event and added three more medals in other swimming events. He was also among the Kazakhstani athletes who set Asian records during the Games. In Para powerlifting, David Degtyarev won the men's 54kg category with a lift of 192kg, setting an Asian Para Games record.
Para shooter Yerkin Gabbasov claimed gold in the men's 10-metre air rifle standing SH1 event and also set a Games record. Kazakhstan reached new milestones in Para table tennis and Para archery, winning medals in both sports for the first time in its Asian Para Games history.
In Para archery, Nurshat Toleukassym and Temirlan Seitkamal won silver in the men's W1 doubles event, while Toleukassym added bronze in the individual competition. The men's sitting volleyball team also secured silver after reaching the final, where Kazakhstan lost 3–0 to Iran.
Kazakhstan won nine more medals than at the 2023 Asian Para Games, including four additional golds. Bolatbek Duketayev, director of Kazakhstan's sports training centre for athletes with disabilities, highlighted the team's progress and its first-ever medals in Para table tennis and Para archery.
The 2026 Asian Para Games brought together athletes representing 45 National Paralympic Committees, according to the International Paralympic Committee.
China topped the overall medal standings with 207 gold medals, followed by Japan with 64 and Uzbekistan with 45.
