The international ALTYN ORDA archery tournament has opened in Atyrau, bringing together more than 200 archers from Kazakhstan and 18 countries, including Hungary, Uzbekistan, Iran, India, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Morocco and others, infohub.kz reports.
The competition, which has already become a tradition, aims to popularize traditional archery, develop the national sport, improve skills and exchange experience at the international level.
At the official opening, Bolat Akchulakov, akim of Atyrau Region, congratulated the participants and emphasized the special symbolic significance of holding the competition in Atyrau. "Atyrau is a sacred land with a rich and deep history directly linked to the era of the Golden Horde. The ancient city of Saraishyk, located in our region, occupies a special place in national history. That is why holding the international ALTYN ORDA archery tournament in Atyrau is filled with deep symbolic meaning, connecting our great past with the present. This is not just a sports competition, but a profound sign of respect for our history and the revival of national art. It is our step toward opening archery to the whole world as a living heritage of the Great Steppe. Today, large-scale work is being carried out in the region to strengthen the material and technical base of traditional archery and create conditions for training athletes. Our main goal is not only to create favorable conditions for the development of national sport, but also to raise new world-class champions in Atyrau. I wish our archers success, accurate shots and victories! I wish everyone good health and great success," Bolat Akchulakov noted.
Special attention is paid to the development of traditional archery in the region. Today, more than 100 people regularly practice this sport in the region. Among them are 2 masters of sport of international class, 8 masters of sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan and 25 candidates for master of sport.
As part of the event, the head of the region presented letters of gratitude to athletes from Atyrau Region who achieved high results at the VI World Nomad Games. Among them are silver medalist in kokpar Abylai Ulykpanov and bronze medalist in traditional archery Ali Sesiguzel.
On the first day of the competition, qualifying rounds in the "Puta" discipline were held among men and women. Zabit Satoev took third place among men, while Milyausha Khalilova from Russia won bronze among women. Tomorrow, athletes will continue competing for medals in the "Qalqan" discipline.
The competition will last until September 15. Over several days, archers will compete for medals in various disciplines of traditional archery. International judges will evaluate the athletes' performances.