The Asian U19 & U22 Boxing Championships wrapped up Aug. 11 in Bangkok, Thailand, with Kazakhstan taking home five gold medals and four silvers.
U22 men
In the men’s U22 finals, Kazakhstan’s team faced Uzbekistan in five gold-medal bouts, winning three.
Nurislam Kaldybayev (60 kg), Sanzhar-Ali Begaliyev (80 kg, pictured) and Temirlan Mukatayev (90 kg) claimed continental titles, defeating Shohruh Abdumalikov, Rakhmatullo Boymatov and Shakhzod Polvonov, respectively.
Silver medals went to Ilya Kalinin (65 kg) and Nurbek Mursal (70 kg).
In the unofficial medal table for the U22 men, Kazakhstan placed second with three gold and two silver medals (3-2-0). Uzbekistan topped the standings with six golds, three silvers and one bronze (6-3-1). Japan finished third (1-0-1).
U22 women
In the women’s U22 bracket, Gulnaz Buribayeva (48 kg) and Bakyt Seidish (70 kg) defeated Uzbekistan’s Robiyakhon Bakhtiyorova and Oysha Toirova to become continental champions.
Silver medals went to Shugyla Nalibay (75 kg) and Assel Toktassyn (+80 kg), who lost their finals to opponents from China and India.
Kazakhstan’s women’s team finished third in the unofficial standings (2-2-0). China placed first (3-0-2) and Uzbekistan was second (2-3-3). Gold medals also went to boxers from India and Thailand.
U19 results
Kazakhstan’s U19 team won two gold, five silver and six bronze medals.
Tournament context
The 2025 Asian Youth Boxing Championships, held Aug. 2-11 in Bangkok, featured 39 medal events — 20 for men and 19 for women — under the auspices of World Boxing, the international federation formed in 2023 to keep boxing in the Olympic program.
World Boxing was created as an alternative to the International Boxing Association (IBA), headed by Russian Umar Kremlev, which the International Olympic Committee stripped of recognition in 2024 following a series of scandals.
At the Asian Championships in May, run by the Asian Boxing Confederation and the IBA, Kazakhstan’s youth athletes dominated, winning 41 of 50 gold medals. In July, the senior team won eight of 20 gold medals at the World Boxing World Cup stage in Astana.
