Yerbol Kuantaevich Myrzabosynov, Chairman of the Committee for Sports and Physical Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was elected President of the Qazaq Kuresi (Kazakh wrestling) Association, Turanews.kz reports.
The creation of the Qazaq Kuresi Association was completed in 2022 after the merger of three federations that worked according to different rules of Qazaq Kuresi: the International Federation of Qazaq Kuresi, the World Federation of Qazaq Kuresi, and the republican federation of Qazaq Kuresi.
The purpose of the Qazaq Kuresi Association is to develop Qazaq Kuresi in the Republican and international arenas and to include the discipline in the program of Asian and Olympic sports. There are Qazaq Kuresi federations operating in all regions and cities of republican significance, which are directly controlled by the Qazaq Kuresi Association. According to statistics, there are currently 3,897 sports sections of Qazaq Kuresi, with 122,607 people involved, of which 2,735 sections with 73,054 participants are located in rural areas. In general, more than 700 competitions are held throughout the country every year. In the international arena, Qazaq Kuresi federations operate in more than 40 countries around the world.
It is noteworthy that for the first time the association was headed by a specialist in Qazaq kuresi. Yerbol Myrzabosynov is an international master of sports in Qazaq Kuresi and an honored coach. He was one of the founders of the Qazaq Kuresi Association and served as its general director. Under his direct leadership, uniform rules of Qazaq kuresi were approved in the country and in the international arena. Qazaq Kuresi joined the United World Wrestling (UWW). Under the auspices of the UWW, the first World Championship in Qazaq Kuresi was held among three age groups. This is a significant step towards the inclusion of Qazaq Kuresi in the program of complex competitions.
E. Myrzabosynov has a PhD degree and is engaged in the study of scientific and practical aspects of sports. As the rector of the Academy of Physical Culture and Mass Sports, he initiated fundamental and applied research on Qazaq Kuresi within the framework of a scientific project. The results of this research have interested UWW specialists. In their opinion, Qazaq Kuresi belongs to the types of martial arts involved in the Olympic movement, which include spectacular, biomechanically correct elements.
As the newly elected president of the association, E. Myrzabosynov noted that the Qazaq Kuresi Association will continue to work on the unification of the rules and on the international recognition of Qazaq Kuresi. The President of the association quoted the statement of the President of Kazakhstan, K. Tokayev, that Qazaq Kuresi is one of the affordable sports that does not require large expenses and plays an important role in educating the younger generation. He emphasized the possibility of raising the image of the country through the development of a national sport, citing the example of judo wrestling, the national sport of Japan. According to E. Myrzabosynov, Qazaq Kuresi should become one of the brands representing the country in the international arena. He also drew attention to the development of the Uzbek type of martial arts “Kurash”, which is included in the program of the Asian Games and allows Uzbekistan to win medals in 7 weight categories. As Yerbol Kuantaevich emphasized, if a similar inclusion of Qazaq Kuresi in the program of the Asian Games is achieved, then the opportunity to occupy high positions in the team medal standings will increase.
The leaders of the Qazaq Kuresi federations of Italy, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and other countries, as well as a member of the UWW Bureau, Maria Rodica Yakshy, took part in the online meeting of the association members. They made congratulatory remarks and expressed confidence in the development of Qazaq Kuresi at the international level. Maria Rodika Yakshy said that Qazaq Kuresi was included in the program of the World Combat Games, a world competition between representatives of martial arts and sports martial arts.
