Kazakhstan’s men’s national epee fencing team has won the Asian Championships, the World Championships and the Asian Games within four months, El.kz reports citing the Kazakhstan Fencing Federation.
The team began its winning run in June at the Asian Championships in Delhi. In the final, Kazakhstan defeated Japan 45–40 to claim the team gold medal.
A month later, Kazakhstan achieved a historic result at the World Championships in Hong Kong. The men’s team became world champions in epee for the first time.
Kazakhstan secured its third major victory at the Asian Games in Japan. In the final, Ruslan Kurbanov, Kirill Prokhodov, Vadim Sharlaimov and Yerlik Sertai faced the Republic of Korea.
During the decisive bout, Kazakhstan trailed by almost ten points but managed to recover. The final ended with Kazakhstan winning 43–42.
The Asian Games gold medal was Kazakhstan’s third-ever title in the men’s team epee event. The national team had previously won the discipline in 1994 and 2002.
The Fencing Federation compared the team’s three consecutive victories to a “Grand Slam.” While there is no official term for such an achievement in fencing, the Kazakhstani team won the continental championship, the world championship and the Asian Games within a single season.
President of the Kazakhstan Fencing Federation Mirbulat Abuov described the current squad as one of the strongest teams in the history of the country’s sport.
“As results improve, expectations and responsibility also increase. We view what we have achieved as a new level that we now need to maintain. The Olympic qualification process lies ahead,” he said.
The national team’s next major objective will be the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
