138 Kazakh athletes to compete in 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin

138 athletes - 72 men and 66 women, will represent Kazakhstan at the upcoming 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, competing for 51 sets of medals in 10 disciplines in six sports, Kazinform News Agency reports.

9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin
Photo credit: NOC

The event is expected to bring together 1,000 athletes from 32 Asian countries, who will vie for 64 sets of medals, the Ministry of Tourism says.

This will be the national team's sixth Asian Winter Games, and the second one in Harbin since 1996, with a total of 196 medals (78 gold, 62 silver and 56 bronze) claimed. 

During the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, the national team clinched 32 medals ranking 4th in the overall standings.

For the first time in the Games history, ski mountaineering has been featured in the list of competitions.

More than half of the national team members are the athletes from Astana, Almaty and East Kazakhstan region. Athletes from 10 other regions will also represent Kazakhstan at the event.

Ice hockey player Adil Beketayev and short track speed skater Olga Tikhonova are the flagbearers of the national team.

Among the team members are the champions of the previous Asian Winter Games, such as Olga Poltoranina (biathlon, 2011), Yevgeniy Rymaryov (ice hockey, 2011), Roman Starchenko (ice hockey, 2011), Darya Klimina (biathlon, 2017), Kirill Savitskiy (ice hockey, 2017), and Dmitry Grents (ice hockey, 2017).

15-year-old Assan Assylkhan is the youngest member of the team, who will represent Kazakhstan in freestyle acrobatics, and 41-year-old ski mountaineer Denis Vlasov is the oldest team member.

The opening ceremony of the Games is slated for February 7, and closing ceremony will take place on February 14. Both ceremonies will be held at the Harbin International Convention and Exhibition Centre Stadium.

The mascots of the 9th Asian Winter Games are Binbin and Nini, a pair of Siberian tigers. Binbin represents the ice events, and Nini represents the snow events. The official slogan of the Games is "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia"

Harbin is hosting the Asian Winter Games for the second time. For the first time, the Games were held in this city in 1996. In general, China is hosting the Asian Winter Games for the third time.

Solemn events and competitions will be held in seven venues: Harbin Ice Hockey Arena, Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center, Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena, Harbin Sport University Student Skating Rink, Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Centre Multifunctional Hall, Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Centre Speed Skating Rink, and Yabuli Ski Resort.

On January 14, official ticket sales for the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin began.

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