AUYL SPORT: Victory Was My Dream — And It Came True!

— Out of 22 members of the Kazakhstan national team, 12 are athletes from the Auyl Sport project, — says Galymbek Zhaksilykov, Executive Director of the Halyk Foundation and head of the Auyl Sport project. — Project athletes compete in three disciplines: boxing, freestyle wrestling, and chess. Before reaching the final stage, they passed regional selections, and in December won the republican tournament. Today, these young athletes represent Kazakhstan as part of the national team.

— Participation in the Gymnasiade for Auyl Sport children is fully funded by the Halyk Foundation: travel, meals, accommodation, daily allowances, and sports uniforms. The main feature of the project is that all regional tournaments are held exclusively among rural children — urban children do not participate. This is because city children have access to sports facilities, coaches, and sections, while rural children have far fewer opportunities. Auyl Sport fills this gap and gives everyone an equal chance to shine.

— For many participants, this trip was their first time leaving their village. Some of them had never even visited their regional center, let alone traveled abroad or flown on a plane. For these children, this is not only a sports journey but also a personal one, — says Galymbek Zhaksilykov. — They meet new people, communicate, learn to set goals and believe in themselves.

— The Kazakhstan boxing team came to the Gymnasiade with eight athletes, — says Miras Masabayev, head boxing coach of Auyl Sport. — On this trip, I served as senior coach: I prepared the boys, led them to the ring, and guided them through their fights. Before traveling to Serbia, we gathered in Almaty for training camp. Some athletes trained centrally, while others prepared locally. The level of competition was very high: boxing teams from seven countries participated. Many opponents were strong, well-prepared, and experienced. But our boys delivered outstanding results.

— Aibek Sadyk, team captain and my personal student, executed all instructions perfectly. On the first day, he defeated the Romanian boxer; on the second — the Ukrainian boxer, becoming the champion. Another excellent performance was shown by Nurtas Alimbay from the Zhambyl region: he fought twice, showed real character in the semifinal, and confidently beat his Serbian opponent in the final, demonstrating a high level of skill and a truly Kazakh boxing style. Out of eight boxers, five reached the final — ensuring at least one silver medal for Kazakhstan. But all five won their bouts, bringing home five gold medals, three of which were earned by Auyl Sport athletes. Let the children tell the rest themselves.

— Aibek Sadyk, team captain and my personal student, executed all instructions perfectly. On the first day, he defeated the Romanian boxer; on the second — the Ukrainian boxer, becoming the champion. Another excellent performance was shown by Nurtas Alimbay from the Zhambyl region: he fought twice, showed real character in the semifinal, and confidently beat his Serbian opponent in the final, demonstrating a high level of skill and a truly Kazakh boxing style. Out of eight boxers, five reached the final — ensuring at least one silver medal for Kazakhstan. But all five won their bouts, bringing home five gold medals, three of which were earned by Auyl Sport athletes. Let the children tell the rest themselves.

— The opponents were really strong, — says Nurtas Alimbay. — As we Kazakhs say, they were true "qarsylas" (real contenders). It wasn't easy for me, but I gave everything I had and showed a worthy result. Thank you to the Auyl Sport project for giving me the opportunity to participate and win gold!

— It feels like I just won the Olympics, — shares gold medalist Shyngys Makarov. — Everything went very well. My opponent was not weak — he was physically strong. I don’t have a developed tactical style yet and rely mostly on physical strength. But that’s okay — I will learn. My family says I justified their hopes, and that is the most important thing for me.

— Thanks to the Auyl Sport project, I made it to the Gymnasiade, made new friends, and saw big sports for the first time. It’s a huge opportunity for rural kids. For first place I received 1 million tenge — I want to buy a phone, and the rest I’ll give to my parents. I thank my parents, my coach, and everyone who supported me. Victory was my dream — and it came true!

— I have been boxing since 2011, — says bronze medalist Alikhan Smagul. — Overall, I felt fine in the ring, but in the first round, I felt as if I "fell asleep," and in the second, third and fourth rounds, I could not fully recover and switch on. I should have been more active, thrown more punches. Something went wrong. In my first fight, I faced a Ukrainian boxer and lost the second and third rounds, although everything was expected to go differently. Now I am the bronze medalist of the Gymnasiade.

— Amir Erzhanuly is a strong fighter, — says head coach Miras Masabayev. — His personal coach could not attend the competition, so I took responsibility for him. In such situations, the coach's role becomes especially important: what words of support to choose, what mistakes to point out, what techniques to advise, and where to notice the opponent’s weaknesses. Mutual understanding between coach and athlete is equally important.

— Before the fight, every boy is nervous, you can see it in their eyes. In the beginning of the first fight, Amir was a bit confused and lost the first round. But during the break we supported him, he composed himself, came out, and in the second round knocked his opponent down, winning by early stoppage. In the final, he faced an experienced and physically strong Brazilian boxer. But Amir entered the ring confidently, focused, and delivered excellent work — he won.

— The Kazakhstan team performed with great dignity, and I am especially proud of my student, — says coach Yernat Karatayev. — Symbat Sarvagazy showed real character, winning all three fights with a clear advantage. In the first fight, he defeated the Brazilian athlete 5:0; in the second, he beat the boxer from Taipei also 5:0. In the final, he met an extremely strong Ukrainian opponent and won 3:2. The competition was fierce — the strongest young boxers from around the world had gathered. A total of twenty teams competed, and Kazakhstan, with eight boxers, took fourth place in the team standings.

— The Auyl Sport project of the Halyk Foundation is one of the most ambitious initiatives for the development of rural sports in Kazakhstan. It gives real opportunities to young athletes and their coaches from villages to make themselves known. The success at the Gymnasiade is clear proof of the project's effectiveness: all five gold medals in boxing were won by children from rural areas. I personally intend to join the Auyl Sport project in the future with my own students because I sincerely believe that with such support, rural sports have a bright and promising future.

— I came to sports of my own will — I was interested, and I worked hard for today's result, — says Kalibek Nurkozha. — I had three fights at the tournament: first against an American athlete, then I lost to a wrestler from Azerbaijan, and as a result, took third place. I want to express my deep gratitude to the Auyl Sport project for giving me the opportunity to be here and for developing rural sports.