Kazakhstani hockey player Maksim Mukhametov has received the individual award for Best Forward at the 2027 Asian Championship, infohub.kz reports.
Kazakhstan's national team, coached by Talgat Zhailauov, won the tournament held in the South Korean city of Jeonju, claiming the Asian title for the third time in a row. The Kazakhs beat Japan 3-2 and China 5-0 in regulation time, then defeated South Korea 1-0 in a shootout.
Mukhametov played in all three matches, scoring two goals and adding two assists for a plus-2 rating. Only two Japanese players recorded more points — five each: forward Chikara Hanzawa (2+3) and Riku Ishida (0+5), who was named the tournament's Best Defenseman.
Among goaltenders, the individual award went to China's Chen Shifeng. He allowed an average of 3.67 goals per game and stopped 92.09% of shots. A total of 139 shots were directed at his net — no other goaltender faced more than 66.