Kazakh boxer Torekhan Sabyrkhan has publicly backed his brother Makhmud, who took bronze at the 2026 Summer Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, according to infohub.kz.
In the semifinals of the 55 kg weight class, Makhmud Sabyrkhan faced Carlo Paalam of the Philippines. After three rounds, the judges awarded the Filipino a split-decision victory, 3:2. Two judges scored the bout for Sabyrkhan, 29:27 and 30:26, while two others favored Paalam, 29:27, and the fifth judge's final score was 28:28. As a result, the Filipino boxer advanced to the final.
The Kazakhstan Boxing Federation then voiced its disagreement with the results of two Asian Games semifinal bouts, including Sabyrkhan's. The country filed a protest with World Boxing.
Against that backdrop, Torekhan Sabyrkhan reached out to his brother Makhmud after his defeat in the 2026 Asian Games semifinals. He posted a photo with his brother after the fight on his Instagram stories.
"The whole country saw what a true champion should look like. At the most important moment, you proved that you are a true champion!" Torekhan wrote.
Notably, Torekhan Sabyrkhan himself will fight in the Asian Games final in the 70 kg weight class today. His opponent will be Zeyad Eshaish of Jordan.