Kazakhstan national water polo goalkeeper Temirlan Balfanbayev has posted photos from an Asian Games photo shoot on social media — and, according to Kursiv LifeStyle, the images have only cemented his reputation as Kazakh sport's new crush, infohub.kz reports.
Kazakhstan's water polo team won silver at the 2026 Asian Games. The athlete shared photos showing off his perfectly toned physique. According to him, the shots were taken during a photo shoot dedicated to the competition.
Yet his official page has few complimentary comments, even though there is far more to admire about the young man than just his looks.
In one video on the Water Polo Federation's page, Temirlan said he has been involved in the sport since the age of eight. He is now 24 and holds the title of Master of Sport. Over his career, he has competed at the Asian Games twice: the first time, in 2023, he won bronze. He has also played at the Men's Water Polo World Championship.
After the 2026 Asian Games, social media users have increasingly been discussing Temirlan's looks and charisma.
"Riding the wave, the Kazakh version of Keanu," "He's been a crush for ages, his videos have been circulating on TikTok steadily for a year," users write in the comments.
The athlete shares a surname with Almaty businessman Yenlik Balfanbayev, who is on the Forbes list. However, there is no official data anywhere on whether they are related. All that is known is that the water polo player was born in Almaty and, by age, could well be one of the entrepreneur's 12 children.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote about which countries Kazakhstan's water polo players outperformed at the Asian Games.