Nomad Games: Team Kazakhstan's Results

Kyrgyzstan hosted the VI World Nomad Games. Nearly 3,000 participants from more than 100 countries gathered in Kyrgyzstan to compete in traditional sports, including wrestling, archery, equestrian events, kok-boru, tug of war, togyz kumalak and a dozen other disciplines.

Bishkek. First Came the History

It all began with the grand opening ceremony in Bishkek. The ceremony immediately set the tone for the entire event: horsemen, jigitovka performers and dance groups appeared on the field. Large-scale performances told the story of Kyrgyzstan’s centuries-old history, unfolding to music and accompanied by lighting and fire effects.

The show was spectacular, but behind all the modern stagecraft, one thing remained central: national culture.

At the World Nomad Games, it is difficult to draw a clear line between sport, tradition and history. Wrestling, archery and equestrian games were not originally forms of entertainment for specially trained athletes. These were skills that people might have needed in everyday life.

Here, they were simply brought onto the modern sporting stage.

After the opening ceremony, history gave way to competition, and the Games moved to Issyk-Kul.

Cholpon-Ata. There was No Time for Ceremonies Here

In Cholpon-Ata, competitions were held at the hippodrome, in sports complexes, at the Rukh Ordo cultural centre and at other venues.

In the stands, spectators passionately cheered for their own athletes. After a successful bout or a winning ride, they leapt to their feet, while a defeat sent them into gloom. The excitement was palpable...

At Rukh Ordo, dozens of traditional instruments were played, alongside creative meetings and cultural programmes. It made for an unusual juxtaposition: on one site, people were competing to see who was stronger and more accurate, while nearby, other participants were trying to preserve and showcase what they had inherited from their ancestors.

Members of the renowned Yakut ensemble Ayarkhaan called the complex a unique space where the history, culture and beauty of Issyk-Kul came together. During the Games, musicians from different countries really did gather here.

But the most memorable events were still to come.

Read our interview with Maksat Chaky about how the World Nomad Games were created:

Games That Have Outgrown Their PastThe World Nomad Games have evolved from national games into an international system of ethnosport. They began as a bold local experiment, and today they aspire to become a global cultural and sporting platform. What needs to happen next to ensure that the traditional element does not dissolve into a festival spectacle, but instead develops into a global industry in its own right?mag.humodoc.com

Kyrchyn: A Medieval City in the Twenty-First Century

If Cholpon-Ata was the sporting part of the Games, Kyrchyn was their soul.

A genuine ethnographic village sprang up in the valley, with almost 200 yurts, rows of stalls, craft workshops and areas dedicated to different regions and peoples.

Beyond the settlement gates, another world began. Clothes, jewellery, crockery, wooden, metal and felt goods, bags, carpets, bracelets and rings were on sale, most of them handmade.

And all of this coexisted harmoniously. According to the organisers, in just three days the ethno-town was visited by around two hundred thousand people.

National pavilions followed one another: from some came voices raised in song, while nearby others filled the air with traditional instruments and the rhythms of dance. From the food pavilions drifted the aromas of kuurdak, plov, manti and samsa, and judging by the crowds, walking past was considerably harder than it might seem.

Kyrchyn was not limited to Kyrgyz culture. Ukrainian and Mongolian voices could be heard, while Tatar, Azerbaijani and Crimean Tatar traditions were also represented.

The Svitanok ensemble performed at the Belarusian diaspora’s pavilion. The Ukrainian pavilion showcased the culture of Ukrainians in Kyrgyzstan. Representatives of the Tatar community spoke about preserving their language and traditions.

And all of this coexisted harmoniously. According to the organisers, around 200,000 people visited the ethnographic village in just three days.

A Carpet Worth $35,000

One of the participants in this sprawling marketplace was Kazakh craftswoman Madina Sakenova, who brought a collection of her work to Kyrchyn.

Two of her pieces, a sautoir and a pair of felt earrings, were purchased by Kyrgyzstan’s First Lady, Aigul Japarova. Madina had initially wanted to give them to her as a gift, but the son of the President of Kyrgyzstan, who was accompanying Aigul Japarova, handed the craftswoman some money, saying, “For your work.”

But the story of the gifts did not end there.

One of the Kyrgyz craftsmen offered the First Lady a handmade carpet decorated with semi-precious stones. Twelve craftsmen from Afghanistan, India and Türkiye had spent more than two years working on it.

The price reflected the scale of the work, at around $35,000, but Aigul Japarova thanked the craftsman and politely declined the gift.

Judging by the video, her appearance at the market was quite unremarkable. She walked between the stalls, chatted with vendors and looked over the goods on display. There was no sense of a specially arranged presidential photo opportunity. She was simply one shopper among many. Nearby, children helped translate conversations with foreign visitors.

When the Spectator Stops Being a Spectator

The most interesting things happening at Kyrchyn, however, were not to be found among the market stalls. The ethnographic village was divided according to the regions of Kyrgyzstan, with each area offering its own programme.

One of the performers was Kadyrbek Omuraliev from Jalal-Abad Region, a master of the shyldyrak and asa-tayak. His performance soon became much more than a musical number.

The instrumentalist soon had the audience in his hands. Spectators joined in, some singing along, others moving to the rhythm. Videos of the virtuoso quickly spread across social media.

Then, in the neighbouring pavilion, an Andijan polka struck up. In an instant, the boundary between stage and audience disappeared. Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Tatars, Ukrainians, Americans, Britons and Hungarians all took to the dance floor. Some tried to follow the steps, others switched to the waltz or hopak, while still others launched into the kara zhorga.

No one was particularly concerned with getting the choreography right. And why should they be? It is precisely such moments that stay in the memory longer than official ceremonies.

Sport Too Had Its Moment

That said, no one intended to turn the World Nomad Games into nothing more than a grand ethnographic festival.

On the sporting fields, things were entirely serious: nerves, excitement, heated exchanges, victories and defeats.

Team Kazakhstan performed strongly, winning 74 medals: 32 gold, 20 silver and 22 bronze. The athletes led the field in audaryspak, zhamby atu, Kazakh kuresi, traditional archery, arm wrestling, tug of war, togyz kumalak, mangala and other disciplines.

Team Kazakhstan excelled in tug of war, taking gold in all three categories: 8×8, 4×4 and 1×1.

One of the stand-out performers was Kazakhstan’s Meiyir Rakhmetkaliyev from Ridder. In the individual tug-of-war event, he faced a 190-kilogram opponent from Iran who had not suffered a single defeat.

Meiyir himself barely tips the scales at 110 kilograms.

The difference looked enormous. But the giant could not withstand the will to win of our jigit. Despite all his efforts, digging his feet into the ground and leaving a furrow behind him, the Iranian eventually began to slide towards his own defeat and the Kazakh athlete’s triumph, to loud applause from the spectators.

But while tug of war proved almost unbeatable territory for Kazakhstan, the equestrian events were more complicated.

In baige, Kazakh riders once again excelled, sweeping the podium.

In the kok-boru final, however, the hosts crushed Kazakhstan 12–0. In the kokpar final, Kyrgyzstan also came out on top, winning 7–2.

The Story of an Arrow

The women’s 60-metre archery final, contested on the ‘Puta’ target, was no less dramatic.

The gold-medal bout brought together Kyrgyzstan’s Asel Sadyrova, one of the most decorated competitors in the history of the World Nomad Games, and 51-year-old Kazakh teacher Ayash Kabdolla.

Sadyrova has been a medallist at the World Nomad Games four times. She won bronze in 2016, gold in 2018, and in 2022 added two more bronze medals to her tally, one in the individual competition and one in team archery. In 2024, in Kazakhstan, she won silver and bronze.

Beyond the World Nomad Games, Sadyrova has repeatedly finished on the podium at other international tournaments. She won gold at the International Archery Competition for the Fetih Cup, where athletes from more than 70 countries competed, as well as gold at the Islamic Games. At the Kurultai of Turkic Peoples in Hungary, she once again claimed the top prize.

Her rival Ayash Kabdolla came to the sport only two years ago. One could say, by chance.

Her husband suggested that she take part with him in a regional competition. That was how her sporting career began. A primary school teacher with thirty years of experience began training under the guidance of her daughter-in-law, Azhar Rakhmetkyzy.

And now she was facing one of the most decorated archers in the competition. Yet experience does not always outweigh determination. Ayash proved more accurate, hitting the target better than her celebrated rival.

After her victory, she burst into tears. Her daughter-in-law and coach, Azhar, could not hold back tears of joy either, while the spectators around them applauded. At that moment, it no longer mattered how many medals one country or another had won.

Incidentally, 196 athletes from 52 countries took part in the traditional archery tournament. But that is probably not the figure people will remember.

What will remain in the memory is a woman who took up the sport only two years ago and defeated an athlete with a far longer competitive history.

A Chapan Instead of a Protocol

There were some other stories at Kyrchyn that were never likely to make it into the official programme of the Games.

Kazakhs and Kyrgyz have an ancient custom known as shapan zhabu. It is a gesture of deep respect and honour traditionally reserved for the most esteemed guests, as well as respected akyns, batyrs, writers and people who have made a significant contribution to society.

The recipient is often chosen in advance, after which a chapan is publicly draped over their shoulders. This tradition is sometimes jokingly called “robe diplomacy”. A guest from Kazakhstan, impressed by a Kyrgyz singer’s performance, took off his own chapan and presented it to the performer in front of the audience, to a burst of applause.

The video quickly spread across Kyrgyz social media with the caption: “Биз бирге — казак боорлар!” (“We are together, Kazakh brothers!”).

Against the backdrop of everything unfolding in Kyrchyn, the scene felt particularly symbolic. Here, people could move remarkably quickly from being spectators to becoming participants.

American kok-boru players sampled the local cuisine, joined in dances to local music and chatted with spectators.

First, you watch someone else’s culture from the outside. Then you try its food. Then you listen to its music. Then someone pulls you onto the dance floor.

And suddenly, you are no longer a stranger.

And Then Three Gold Medals Went Missing

The World Nomad Games did not go entirely without a mishap, however.

For several days, Kazakhstan had been leading the medal table. But just before the closing ceremony, it emerged that the medal figures did not match.

According to the table published by the organisers, Kyrgyzstan was in first place with 72 medals, while Kazakhstan was second.

The Kazakh side reported different figures and continued to regard itself as the leader.

The problem turned out to be in the tally. Three gold medals had disappeared from Kazakhstan’s overall total, putting Kyrgyzstan in the lead.

The situation looked rather odd, particularly since the athletes had already finished their finals, received their medals and had their results confirmed.

The sporting competitions were over, but the competition with the calculator was only just beginning.

As Kyrgyzstan’s presidential press secretary, Askhat Alagozov, explained, the discrepancy arose from the way medals won by three Kazakh athletes had been counted. After the figures were reviewed, it was decided that each athlete’s medal should be counted separately.

The three Kazakh golds returned to the overall tally.

In the final table, Kazakhstan came first with 32 gold medals to Kyrgyzstan’s 30.

The hosts, however, collected the largest overall haul, 84 medals to Kazakhstan’s 74.

“Congratulations to our Kazakh brothers on their victory!” Alagozov wrote.

It was good that the matter ended there. After all, arguing over medals at Games created to bring people from different countries together would have been a rather strange way to finish.

In the end, even here the nomads proved they could move camp without warning. This time, though, it was not the nomads who wandered off, but the medals.

The Main Victory

The VI World Nomad Games set new records for the number of participating countries, delegates and visitors. But the numbers are probably the least interesting part of the story. What happened between them is far more revealing.

Nearly 3,000 athletes came to Kyrgyzstan to compete. They wrestled, shot, raced on horseback, competed in tug of war and cheered for their teams.

Then they took off their sportswear, put on national costumes, headed to the ethnographic village, sampled different cuisines, listened to music and danced.

Some events leave behind little more than a record of results: who won, who lost, how many medals each country collected and where it finished. Others are remembered for something else entirely.

The musician who managed to get complete strangers up and dancing.

The teacher who had taken up sport only two years earlier and defeated a decorated rival.

The coach who burst into tears after her pupil’s victory.

The 190-kilogram athlete who lost to a man almost half his weight.

People from different countries who were strangers to one another in the morning, but friends just a few hours later.

Perhaps that is the real meaning of the World Nomad Games: not simply to find out who is best at archery or who can pull hardest in tug of war. Though that matters too, especially if you have come for a gold medal.

But some things cannot be measured in medals. When an Uzbek polka brings together a Ukrainian, a Tatar, an American, a Latvian, a Magyar and a Brazilian on the same dance floor, before long you are all celebrating together and exchanging phone numbers.

Perhaps that is the moment when the competitions end and the Games begin.

Tags:Legacy Kyrgyzstan games nomads Kazakhstan Sport