Historical gold: Karagandian wins Asian Para-powerlifting Championship

Karaganda athlete Ernur Zhamanov won a gold medal at the Asian Para-powerlifting Championships, writing his name in history: this is the first award of this level for Karaganda.

The Asian and Oceania Championships were held in Bangkok (Thailand) and brought together 249 athletes from 23 countries. Yernur Zhamanov, a 19-year-old resident of Karaganda, played in the national team of Kazakhstan.

Despite his young age, the athlete already has serious achievements: in 2025 he became the silver medalist of the Kazakhstan Youth Championship, and in 2026 he won the title of national champion. In addition, Yernur is the champion of the Republican Paralympics.

At the competition in Bangkok, he demonstrated a high level of training, strength and resilience.

— During the preparation for the championship, the main focus was on technique, as it is crucial in powerlifting. Despite the strong competition (in particular, the athlete from Uzbekistan showed more weight in the individual competition), Ernur came out on top in terms of the total points for technique and the results of three approaches and won a gold medal," said coach — teacher of the Regional Specialized School for Disabled Sports Andrey Shpitzer, technique played a key role in success.

The athlete has new starts ahead. In August, Aktau will host the Kazakhstan para-powerlifting and powerlifting championships among athletes with visual impairment. Ernur will perform together with his comrades from the regional school Irina Garan, Zhandos Embergen and Naiman Zhaksygorin. Temirlan Zhaksybekov, Vitaly Voronov and Nurniyaz Utegenov will also represent the Karaganda region.