The World Nomad Games, which concluded in Kyrgyzstan on September 6, do not include an official medal tally among countries, reports infohub.kz.
The State Agency for Physical Culture and Sports of the Kyrgyz Republic issued a statement on its Instagram account emphasizing that, in accordance with the Games' concept, no official medal or team standings are kept. This statement came after Kazakhstan's Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced 32 gold medals for its national team, which would have put Kazakhstan at the top of the final medal tally.
However, the Games' organizers presented a different version, according to which Kyrgyzstan's team had 30 gold medals, while Kazakhstan's count was reduced to 29, placing it second. After the ensuing controversy, the organizers removed the medal ranking from social media and the official website, explaining that a final tally is not yet available as they are still collecting complete information from the Games' Secretariat.
The Kyrgyz State Agency for Sports stated: "The World Nomad Games are primarily an international platform for preserving, developing, and promoting ethnosports and traditional sports, as well as strengthening cultural ties and friendship among peoples. The Games' concept is based not on competition among states for a place in a general ranking, but on uniting countries around a shared historical and cultural heritage and developing ethnosport."
Earlier, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated the national team on its successful performance at the Nomad Games.