Kazakhstan's judo team claimed silver in the mixed team event at the 2026 Asian Games, losing to Japan 0:4 in the final. The medal was Kazakhstan's seventh in judo at these Games, according to infohub.kz.
In the opening bout of the final, Gusman Kyrgyzbaev (73 kg) faced Japan's Tatsuki Ishihara. The contest went the full four minutes, and Ishihara won on a yuko score.
In the second bout, Azhar Askhat (70 kg) took on Utana Terada. The Japanese athlete ended the contest with an ippon in 3 minutes 7 seconds.
In the third bout, Aidar Arapov (90 kg) initially scored a yuko against Hidetoshi Tokumochi, but the Kazakh then picked up three shidos, and the ippon victory was awarded to the Japanese judoka.
Aida Toishybekova (over 78 kg) was fourth on the mat. Her opponent, Miki Mukunoki, won by ippon in 33 seconds.
Kazakhstan thus finished the judo tournament at the 2026 Asian Games with seven medals — five silver and two bronze. In the individual events, the Kazakh team won four silvers and two bronzes, then added silver in the mixed team event.
The silver medalists: Yeldos Smetov (60 kg), Abiba Abuzhakynova (48 kg), Adilet Almat (81 kg), Azhar Askhat (70 kg) and the mixed Kazakhstan team.
The bronze medals: Esmigul Kuyulova (63 kg) and Yekaterina Tokareva (78 kg).
Five more Kazakh athletes finished just short of the individual podium: Gusman Kyrgyzbaev, Meruyert Sarsenova, Dana Abdirova, Marat Baikamurov and Aida Toishybekova took fifth places in their categories.
The XX 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.