The Tajikistan national kurash team returned from the Asian Championship, which took place from August 2 to 4 in South Korea, having won eight medals across various age categories. This was reported by the Kurash Federation of Tajikistan (KFT).
The tournament featured the strongest wrestlers from the continent among cadets, juniors, and adults. The Tajik team was represented by 11 athletes who competed in all three age groups.
Gold medals for the national team were won by Sarvar Abdushukurov (66 kg) and Shakarmamad Mirmamadov (+120 kg), who became champions in their respective weight categories.
Silver medals were earned by Iskandar Mahmadkhojazoda (60 kg, adults) and Umar Boboaliyev (46 kg, cadets).
Bronze medalists included Muhammadsharif Najmiddinov (81 kg), Hamroz Rajabov (90 kg), and Ulughbek Rahimov (100 kg) among adults, as well as Halim Halimov (60 kg) in the junior category.
Thus, out of the 11 Tajik athletes who participated in the championship, 8 returned home with medals, demonstrating a high level of preparation and competitiveness on the Asian stage.
Kurash refers to a number of folk wrestling styles practiced in Central Asia. Kurash wrestlers use towels to hold their opponents, and their goal is to throw their opponents off the feet. The wrestling is the main competition at the folk festival Sabantuy.
The sport is called güləş in Azerbaijani, көрәш in Bashkir, кӗрешӳ in Chuvash, күрес / küres in Kazakh, күрөш / küröş in Kyrgyz, кӱреш / küreş in Shor, küreş / күреш / көрәш / kөrəş in Tatar, güreş in Turkish, göreş in Turkmen, and kurash in Uzbek, all derived from Old Turkic küreş.[2]
The first official All-USSR koresh championship took place in Kazan in 1928 and was followed by the first TASSR (Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) national championship in 1949. Since 1956, regular Tatar Köräş competitions have been organized in honor of the national hero and poet Musa Cälil.
The International Kurash Association (IKA), founded in 1998, holds championships since 1999.
