Kazakh freestyle wrestler Nurkozha Kaipanov climbed onto the third step of the podium at the 2026 Asian Games in the 74-kilogram weight class. In the bronze-medal bout he defeated India's Sagar Jaglan early, according to infohub.kz.
The Kazakh seized the initiative from the opening seconds and built a 5-0 lead. With that advantage, Kaipanov pinned his opponent, and the bout was stopped.
For the 28-year-old wrestler, these Asian Games were his career debut. Even before the tournament in Japan, he had won a world championship and three Asian titles.
On his way to the medal, Kaipanov beat Pakistan's Inayat Ullah in the round of 16 and then got the better of South Korea's Han Dae-gil in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals the Kazakh lost to Iran's Younes Emami Choghaei, which gave him the right to fight for bronze.
Rizabek Aitmuzan and Nurdanat Aitanov did not reach the decisive bouts.
A day earlier, Nachyn Kuular and Yedige Kassymbek won bronze medals in freestyle wrestling, while Azamat Dauletbekov lost his bronze-medal bout.
In women's wrestling, Elmira Syzdykova won silver and Zeinep Bayanova took bronze.
Kazakhstan's Greco-Roman wrestling team added one Asian Games medal to the team's tally: Meirzhan Shermakhanbet claimed bronze. Shamil Ozhaev and Islam Evloev fell just short of the podium.
The 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan officially opened on September 19. Athletes from 45 countries are competing for 460 sets of medals. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games includes 558 athletes in 35 sports.
Day-by-day reviews of the 2026 Asian Games are available: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th.