Kazakhstan has been awarded first place in the medal standings of the World Nomad Games following a recount of results, reports infohub.kz.
Askat Alagozov, press secretary of Kyrgyzstan's president, published a post on Facebook detailing the recalculation of the outcomes of the Games held in Bishkek. He noted that the 6th World Nomad Games were held at a high level and concluded as a grand sporting celebration. Particularly spectacular were the competitions in kok-boru and jer-ulak, where the Kyrgyz and Kazakh teams demonstrated excellent play and once again proved that sporting rivalry remains strictly on the field of competition.
Alagozov emphasized that there were no disagreements among fans either, for which he expressed special gratitude to the athletes and supporters of both nations. The only technical discrepancy in the team standings arose during the medal tally. Today, the organizing committee decided to count the medals of each of the three Kazakh athletes separately. As a result, Kazakhstan took first place in the overall team standings. Congratulations to our Kazakh brothers on their victory!
He added that Kyrgyz athletes also performed admirably at these Games, showcasing their strength and skill. The medal count is just one component of sport. The main victory of these Games lies in the fact that we managed to hold the competitions in a spirit of mutual respect and fair rivalry, once again demonstrating the unity and solidarity of brotherly peoples.
Meanwhile, the official Games website still lacks the final overall standings. Users are only shown a disclaimer stating that the final medal tally of the 6th World Nomad Games will be published after the Games secretariat provides the final information.
Earlier, a scandal erupted over the medal count at the Nomad Games. Organizers presented a final version where the number of gold medals for Kazakhstan's team was lower than in the report from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. In that format, Kyrgyzstan topped the overall standings, not Kazakhstan. The organizers then removed the publication and stated that there was no final version of the medal ranking as protocol information was still being collected. Kyrgyzstan's State Agency for Sports later noted that the overall team standings were not being tracked at all, in line with the Nomad Games concept. Subsequently, Kazakhstan's Minister of Tourism and Sports, Yerbol Myrzabosynov, said he had discussed the Nomad Games results with Urmat Asanbaev, director of the State Agency for Physical Culture and Sports under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic.