The gold of the Deaflympic Games was won by a judoka from the Karaganda region Yerkebulan Kanafin.

Yerkebulan Kanafin, a judoka from Temirtau, successfully competed at the XXV Summer Deaflympic Games in Tokyo. He brought a gold medal to the national team of Kazakhstan.

Yerkebulan Kanafin competed among athletes with hearing loss in the 81 kg weight category. In the final bout, he defeated Hungarian judoka Patrick Otvosh and became the Deaflympic champion. Sergey Dmitrenko trains the athlete.

Yerkebulan Kanafin has been practicing judo for about 25 years.

"Our countryman has already won several world-class victories. In May 2022, Kanafin won the gold medal at the XXIV Summer Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. In 2023, he took first place at the Asia-Pacific Championship in Bishkek. In 2024, at the World Championships in Turkestan (Kazakhstan), he became the bronze medalist in the individual competition, and in the first place in the team competition. And here is a new victory at the highest level!" – noted in the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Karaganda region.

There are performances of taekwondo athletes and swimmers from the Karaganda region ahead at the Deaflympics.

The XXV Summer Deaflympic Games are being held in Tokyo from November 15 to 26. About 3,000 athletes from 81 countries participate in them. Kazakhstan is represented at the competitions by 78 athletes in eight sports.