Kazakh taekwondo athletes Samirkhon Ababakirov and Beibarys Kablан ended their run at the 2026 Asian Games in the quarterfinals. Togzhan Kaznabek and Nazym Makhmutova were eliminated in the round of 16, infohub.kz reports.
Ababakirov, competing in the under-68 kg division, opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Vietnam's Le Tuan. In the quarterfinals, however, the Kazakh athlete lost to South Korea's Moon Jinho and was denied a medal chance.
In the over-80 kg category, Kablан beat Afghanistan's Ali Akbar Amiri 2-0 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, the Kazakh faced Mohammad Al-Adarbi of Jordan and lost in three rounds, 1-2, falling one step short of the semifinals.
In the women's under-57 kg division, Kaznabek lost her opening bout to Iran's Nahid Kiyanichandeh 0-2. Makhmutova, competing in the over-67 kg category, met Vietnam's Bac Thi Khiem in the round of 16 and lost 0-2.
As a result, all four Kazakh taekwondo athletes who took to the mat on October 3 finished their campaigns without medals.
A day earlier, Tamirlan Tleules became the 2026 Asian Games champion in the under-58 kg category. Batyrkhan Toleugali won bronze in the under-80 kg division. Rita Bakisheva took bronze in virtual taekwondo.
The 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan officially opened on September 19. Athletes from 45 countries are competing for 460 sets of medals. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games includes 558 athletes in 35 sports.