Kazakhstan's judo team claimed three medals — one gold and two silver — on the first day of the International Judo Federation Grand Prix in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, infohub.kz reports.
Nurkanat Serikbayev won the title in the under-66-kilogram division. On his way to the final he defeated opponents from Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Italy. In the decisive bout the Kazakh judoka scored an ippon to beat Brazil's Ronald Lima.
Two other members of the national team also reached finals but lost. Galiya Tyynbayeva (under 48 kilograms) was beaten in the decisive bout by Italy's Assunta Scutto and took silver. Three-time world championship medalist Abiba Abuzhakynova exited in the same weight class after her first bout.
Aman Bakytzhan led in the final of the under-60-kilogram division. However, Chinese Taipei's Yang Yung-wei levelled the score and forced the bout into extra time, which lasted more than seven minutes. Bakytzhan ultimately lost after receiving a third shido. Fellow Kazakh Nuradil Alzhan exited in the same weight class in the round of 16.
Mereyert Sarsenova and Aruzhan Yerezhepova started in the under-52-kilogram division but lost their opening bouts. Dana Abdiyeva (under 57 kilograms) ended her campaign in Zagreb the same way.
The Zagreb Grand Prix runs through November 15.