Kazakhstan claims gold and silver at prestigious karate tournament in Japan
Kazakhstan's Anjey Kinzerskiy and Anton Zimarev claimed gold and silver, respectively, at the prestigious Karate Champion of Champions 2026 in Tokyo, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
Kinzerskiy won the men's title after emerging victorious in all of his bouts. He defeated Eventas Gužauskas of Lithuania 5-0 in the semifinals.
In the final, Kinzerskiy faced Anton Zimarev of Kazakhstan, who advanced to the title bout with a semifinal victory over Paulius Žimantas.
As the tournament champion, Kinzerskiy received the top prize of 10 mln Japanese yen, while runner-up Zimarev was awarded 2 mln yen.
The tournament featured nine of the world's top male Shinkyokushinkai karate athletes and eight leading female competitors.
Last year, Anjey Kinzerskiy won the JKA All Japan Karate Championship, becoming the first foreign athlete in history to claim the title.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakhstan had won seven medals at the WTT Youth Contender Tashkent II in Uzbekistan.