Kazakhstan Celebrates National Sports Day as Part of Nauryz Festivities

2026-03-20 - 11:22

The Astana Times provides news and information from Kazakhstan and around the world. ALMATY – Kazakhstan marks National Sports Day on March 20 as part of the Nauryznama celebrations, highlighting traditional sports that play a key role in preserving cultural heritage and promoting healthy lifestyles. At the fifth World Nomad Games in Astana in 2024, key Kazakh disciplines such as kokpar, baige, audaryspak and qazakh kuresi were featured. Maksat Shagyrbayev/Kazinform. Across the country, regions host competitions and demonstrations of traditional disciplines, bringing together athletes, enthusiasts and local communities, Kazinform reported. Preserving heritage through sport National sports remain an integral part of Kazakh culture, reflecting the country’s history, values and nomadic traditions. Today, more than 660,000 people in Kazakhstan regularly participate in traditional sports, accounting for 9.6% of all those engaged in physical activity. Four of Kazakh national sports, falconry (kusbegilik), togyzkumalak, qazakh kuresi and asyk atu, are also included in UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. Photo credit: Agibay Ayapbergenov/ Kazinform. A total of 11 national sports have been granted priority status alongside Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. These include kokpar (a sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to advance a headless goat carcass towards the opposing team’s goal), qazakh kuresi (Kazakh wrestling), baige (horse race), audaryspak (horseback wrestling), asyk atu (board game with bones of a knee sheep joint) and togyzkumalak (nine pellets), among others. Four of them, falconry (kusbegilik), togyzkumalak, qazakh kuresi and asyk atu, are also included in UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. Growing international recognition Kazakh national sports are increasingly represented on the global stage, particularly through the World Nomad Games, one of the biggest international competitions on national sports. At the fifth World Nomad Games in Astana in 2024, key Kazakh disciplines such as kokpar, baige, audaryspak and qazakh kuresi were featured. The upcoming sixth World Nomad Games, scheduled for Aug. 31 to Sept. 6 in the Kyrgyz Republic, will also include competitions in Kazakh national sports, with kokpar among the confirmed events. Expanding global ambitions Kazakhstan is working to promote its traditional sports internationally. Efforts are underway to include togyzkumalak in major global competitions such as the Paralympic or Deaflympic Games. At the same time, initiatives are being pursued to integrate qazakh kuresi into the international wrestling calendar, which could eventually lead to its inclusion in the Asian Games and even the Olympic Games.