Kazakhstan's men's water polo team advanced to the semifinals of the 20th Asian Summer Games, defeating South Korea 18:14 in the quarterfinals. The six-time Asian Games champions secured their third consecutive victory, according to infohub.kz.

The Kazakh team delivered a strong quarterfinal performance in the Asian Games water polo tournament. By beating South Korea 18:14, they booked their place in the semifinals.

The six-time Asian Games champions won their third straight match. After losing to Japan at the start of the group stage, the squad coached by Montenegro's Nemanja Knežević left Hong Kong and Thailand with no chance. In the quarterfinals, they overcame South Korea, who had finished third in the parallel group.

Throughout the match, the opponents led only once — when they went ahead 2:1 in the first period. After Srđan Vuksanović, a native of Yugoslavia, equalized, our team steadily built its advantage. By the start of the final period, the lead had grown to six goals — 16:10. In the end, it was four — 18:14.

Vuksanović and center forward Mikhail Ruday each scored four goals for our team. Another former Yugoslav player, Dušan Marković, recorded a hat-trick.

On October 2, Kazakhstan will face the winner of tomorrow's quarterfinal between China and Thailand for a spot in the final.

2026 ASIAN GAMES

Water polo. Men. Quarterfinals. September 29

🏐 KAZAKHSTAN – SOUTH KOREA 18:13 (4:3, 5:3, 7:4, 2:3)

The men's water polo tournament at the Asian Games has been held since 1951. Kazakh water polo players have won it six times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018). They have also claimed bronze twice (2006, 2022).

The 20th Asian Summer Games officially opened on September 19 and will conclude on October 4. 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.

On the first day of the Games, Kazakhstan won four gold medals. Cyclists Rinata Sultanova and Alexey Lutsenko, as well as karatekas Zholaman Bigabyl and Sofia Berultseva, became champions. MMA fighter Yerkingali Burkutalin added the fifth gold to the team's tally. The sixth came from his mixed martial arts teammate Kadyrbek Shynbayev. On September 23, Lutsenko became a two-time champion of the 2026 Asian Games. The eighth gold medal was won on September 24 by rowers Vladislav Yakovlev and Ivan Chernukhin in the men's coxless pairs. The ninth gold medal was claimed by our epee fencing team.

After nine days of competition, Kazakhstan was ranked fifth in the unofficial medal standings.