Kazakhstan Takes Weightlifting Gold
Adilet Almat captured gold in the men's 81kg division at the Grand Prix Upper Austria this week. His victory highlights Kazakhstan's growing strength in international weightlifting and positions him as a top contender in the 81kg category heading into major competitions.
This victory marked a significant milestone for 21-year-old Adilet Almat, as it was his first appearance in a final block on the prestigious World Judo Tour. His win came in a division where the top four seeds had already been eliminated, opening the door for a new champion to emerge at the Tips Arena in Linz. In the final match, Almat defeated Vusal Galandarzade of Azerbaijan, a winner of the 2025 Lima Grand Prix. Almat secured the win by first scoring a waza-ari with a swift sumi-gaeshi technique before transitioning directly into a hold-down to claim the gold medal. Prior to this Grand Prix title, Almat has shown consistent promise, winning the Asian U21 Championships in Tashkent in 2023. He also claimed a gold medal at the European Open in Benidorm in 2025, demonstrating his capability on the international stage leading up to this breakthrough performance. Judo has a strong history in Kazakhstan, with the national federation being founded in 1973. The country's judokas have secured numerous medals at Asian Games and brought home their first Olympic silver in the sport in 2008, followed by a men's World Championship gold in 2009. The Grand Prix was a crucial event for competitors, with 479 judoka from 59 nations participating in the Linz tournament. Following this victory, Almat will be looking ahead to major upcoming events on the judo calendar, including the Grand Slams in Tbilisi and Astana, and the 2026 World Championships to be held in Baku.
