Is it a matter of psychology? Why are Kazakhstani boxers once again falling behind their Uzbek counterparts?
However, even the absence of familiar surroundings did not stop the athletes from Uzbekistan from winning the medal tally at the championship. Primarily due to the men's competition. Our neighbors secured eight gold medals in this category. But what matters to us is who they fought against.
Out of 13 representatives of the Kazakhstan men's team, our athletes reached the finals of the Asian championship in nine weight categories! And in four bouts, they claimed gold. Returning as champions from Thailand are Mahmud Sabyrkhan, Bekzad Nurdauletov, Sagyndyk Togambay, and the team captain Aibek Oralbay.
The last two fought against athletes from Tajikistan and China. Meanwhile, Sabyrkhan and Nurdauletov became two of the seven boxers who managed to defeat fighters from Uzbekistan. Five of the eight gold medals were won by our neighbors in matches against Kazakhstani competitors.
Indeed, based on the results of two out of seven bouts, the head coach of the team, Kairat Satjanov, expressed his disagreement. But five matches, after all, are indisputable.
The situation at the Olympics in Paris was even worse — our boxers did not secure a single gold medal there. However, it seemed that almost six months had passed since the Olympic Games. And it's been nearly a year since the head of the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation changed. So why has little changed?
We posed this question to the most successful boxing coach in Kazakhstan's history, Tursungali Edilov. In his view, firstly, the time that has elapsed since the leadership change in the federation is not long enough to expect radical changes.
Secondly, according to the coach, it’s a matter of psychology.
“Uzbekistan is indisputably number one in the world right now. Just as the Cubans were in their time, dominating for 30 years. A psychological barrier arises when they step into the ring against them. It takes years to overcome it. We used to try to fight against Cubans, and now we will do the same against Uzbeks. It turns out that the athletes are not psychologically prepared,” says Tursungali Edilov.
Additionally, when discussing not just the Asian championship, Edilov is puzzled as to why Kazakhstani boxers switch from amateur to professional and then back again:
“They went pro, then returned. But why? They are already at an age. I can't understand who is pushing them.”
The day before the men's finals in Chiang Mai, the women's finals took place. And if we look at the number of medals, the situation is quite similar to that of the men — there were only 12 participants, 10 of whom earned awards. Moreover, five of those were bronze, and only five boxers reached the finals. In contrast, the men had almost double that number. However, all five of our girls won their bouts. Here are the names of the champions: Victoria Gracheva, Aida Abikeeva, Natalia Bogdanova, Gulsaya Yerzhan, and Yeldana Talipova.
According to Tursungali Edilov, on one hand, a possible key to the success of the Kazakhstani women could be that not all the strongest athletes gather for continental championships. On the other hand, he notes the changes that have occurred in the women's team.
“The coach has changed, the process has started to move differently, the team has a new composition. And there is already some progress,” says Tursungali Edilov.
Moreover, there is no "Uzbek dominance" in women's Asian boxing. Our girls fought in the finals against only one athlete from Uzbekistan. The other four were from China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Ukraine (whose athletes compete in Asia to avoid clashes with Russians, who have been allowed to compete in Europe). Considering that our girls secured five gold medals, perhaps they are also apprehensive about stepping into the ring against them, just like the men are against Uzbeks? At least within Asia.