ASTANA – The 20th Asian Games opened in Japan on Sept. 19, bringing together thousands of the continent’s top athletes. Kazakhstan is represented by 558 athletes competing in 35 of the 43 sports on the program, reported the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. At the opening of the Games on Sept.
19. Photo credit: Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sports The opening ceremony was held in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, and the Games run through Oct. 4. More than 15,000 athletes are expected to compete for medals in 469 events across 43 sports, spanning both Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines.
Several competitions will also count toward qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games, either by awarding direct quota places or points toward Olympic rankings. Paris 2024 Olympic judo champion Yeldos Smetov and national table tennis team member Sarvinoz Mirkadirova carried the Kazakh flag at the opening ceremony.
Smetov is a three-time Olympic medalist, having also won silver at the 2016 Rio Games and bronze at Tokyo 2020, while Mirkadirova is a multiple Kazakh champion and medalist on the WTT Feeder circuit. Mirkadirova and Smetov bear the Kazakh flag at the opening ceremony.
Photo credit: Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sports The scale of Kazakhstan’s delegation reflects a broader push ahead of the Games to strengthen the national team system. The ministry said foreign specialists with international experience and modern training methods had been brought into the preparation process, with the longer-term goal of developing domestic coaching expertise as well as improving results at major international competitions.
The country won 80 medals, including 10 gold, 22 silver and 48 bronze, at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, finishing 11th in the medal standings. Ahead of the competition in Japan, the ministry has set a target of 99 medals. Meeting that goal will depend on sports in which Kazakhstan has traditionally been competitive in Asia, including boxing, wrestling, judo, fencing and shooting.
But several of the country’s leading medal contenders arrive in Japan with another layer of pressure, according to the National Olympic Committee press office. Many will be facing opponents they already know from Olympic finals, world championships and previous Asian Games.
One of the examples comes in men’s team épée, where Kazakhstan and host Japan have developed one of the continent’s strongest fencing rivalries. Japan beat Kazakhstan in the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games, while Kazakhstan took silver and Japan gold at the following edition.
A few years later in the semifinals of the 2025 world championships, Japan edged Kazakhstan 42-41 before going on to win the title. A year later, Kazakhstan won its first men’s team épée world championship, defeating Ukraine 45-40 in the final. It also won the 2026 Asian championship, with Japan finishing second.
Men’s team épée from Kazakhstan. Photo credit: International Fencing Federation