Kazakhstanis held an iron grip on this year’s Pattaya International Arm Wrestling Championship, taking first place in all three divisions.
Magzhan Shamyiev, 21, won the under-75 kilogram division while Thailand’s Suthiwas Kohsamut, who won the bracket last year, placed second. Valen Low of Singapore grabbed third.
In the under-85 kg. class, Kazakhstan’s Raikhanov Shynbolat, 23, bested Pavel Lunev of Russia for first place. Mark Luis Ben of the Philippines placed third.
Magzhan Shamyiev defeats Thailand’s Suthiwas Kohsamut for the under 75 kg. crown in this year’s Pattaya International Arm Wrestling Championship. Shamyiev was one of three Kazakhstani brothers who won all 3 divisions.
And in the over-85 kg. division, Kazakhstani Ongarbayev Kypyrgali, 19, took first, with second place going to Roman Abramov from Russia.
The contest adhered to international rules set by the Thailand Arm Wrestling Association. Wrestlers competed in three divisions with the winner of each taking home 50,000 baht. Second-place finishers received 15,000 baht and third place got 5,000 baht.
(L to R) Magzhan Shamyiev, winner of the under 75 kg. division; Raikhanov Shynbolat, winner of the under 85 kg. division; and Ongarbayev Kypyrgali, winner of the over 85 kg. division.
The young Kazakhstanis were the crowd favorites, especially among women in the audience. All are college students studying sports science.
“Some of us started training and preparing to become athletes since we were seven to ten years old, training two hours a day and three days per week,” Raikhanov Shynbolat said. “All our competition expenses are paid by the government, which sends us to international competition very often, causing us to travel a lot, meaning that we have to work harder on our studies.”
Ongarbayev Kypyrgali beats Roman Abramov from Russia for the over 85 kg. trophy.
Raikhanov Shynbolat, 23, bested Pavel Lunev of Russia for first place in the under 85 kg. division.
