While the Kazakhstan national team secured first place in the overall medal count at this competition, Yedilov pointed out a significant detail. "Our head coach, Nurjan Nasanov, took our primary leaders to this tournament, resulting in four gold medals. Uzbekistan, however, brought their second and third-string athletes and still secured three golds. What does this mean? It means Uzbekistan has no issues with their talent reserve," Yedilov stated.
The specialist noted that while some Kazakh boxers underperformed, the young Uzbek prospects showed immense promise. "Asadullaev struggled in the middleweight category, but overall, most of them are very promising. Madaminov was the best at -65 kg, Erkinboev proved highly competitive in light heavyweight, and young Mamasoliev defeated all opponents in the -90 kg category. Competition is fierce across most Olympic weight classes in our neighboring country. There, the youth don't allow the leaders to relax. In our case? In several weight classes, coaches struggle to decide whom to send, or there is one leader with a void behind them."
The former Kazakhstan national team coach also noted that Uzbek coaches were not only testing their youth but also closely studying the Kazakh athletes. "I have said many times: our big problem is that in Uzbekistan, they prepare boxers very seriously for fights against ours. We seem to lack that approach. Take the fight between Makhmud Sabyrkhan and Shahzod Muzaffarov, for example. They had met three times before, and our boxer won easily each time. This time, the two-time world champion literally 'snatched' the victory. Therefore, I believe our boxers will face very difficult fights against Uzbek opponents at the Asian Games. They have studied us thoroughly, while we haven't sufficiently analyzed their leaders," Yedilov concluded.
The Summer Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4 in Nagoya, Japan. The Kazakhstan men's national team last won this tournament in 2014, having faced setbacks in the subsequent two Asian Games.
