Kazakhstan's men's volleyball team lost to Chinese Taipei 1:3 in a 9th–12th place match at the Asian Games in Japan, infohub.kz reports.
The Kazakhs collapsed in the first set, losing 11:25. But Sergei Trikoz's charges responded confidently in the second, taking it 25:23. Unlike yesterday's match against Hong Kong, however, they could not turn the tide.
For Kazakhstan, Vladislav Mastikhin scored 16 points, Vladislav Kunchenko added 11 and Azamat Seilkhanov 10.
ASIAN GAMES 2026. Volleyball. Men. October 2. 9th–12th place match.
KAZAKHSTAN – CHINESE TAIPEI 1:3 (11:25, 25:23, 21:25, 20:25).
Following the defeat, the team will play for 11th place at the Asian Games in its final match — against either Vietnam or Indonesia.
The men's volleyball tournament at the Asian Games has been held since 1958. Japan has won it more often than any other nation. Kazakhstan has never reached the podium.
The 20th Summer Asian Games officially opened on September 19 and will close on October 4. Athletes from 45 countries are competing for 460 sets of medals. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games comprises 558 athletes in 35 sports.
On the first day of the Games, Kazakhstan won four gold medals. Cyclists Rinata Sultanova and Alexey Lutsenko became champions, along with karateka Zholaman Bigabyl and Sofya Berultseva. MMA fighter Yerkingali Burkutalin added a fifth gold to the team's tally, and his mixed martial arts teammate Kadyrbek Shynbayev made it six. On September 23, Lutsenko became a two-time champion of the 2026 Asian Games. The eighth gold came on September 24, when rowers Vladislav Yakovlev and Ivan Chernukhin won the men's coxless pairs. The ninth gold was claimed on September 27 by Kazakhstan's epee fencing team. Today, boxer Torekhan Sabyrkhan secured the tenth gold.
After 12 days of competition, Kazakhstan sat ninth in the unofficial medal standings.