A solemn farewell ceremony for the athletes of the Kazakh national team to the IX Asian Winter Games was held at the Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex in the capital. The Yellow Continent competition will be held in the cities of Harbin and Yabuli of the People's Republic of China from February 7 to 14.
The solemn gathering was attended by the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerbol Myrzabosynov, representatives of the National Olympic Committee, the medalist of the 1998 Winter Olympics, two-time champion of the 1996 Winter Asian Games Lyudmila Prokasheva, Honored Coach of the Republic of Kazakhstan in short track Madigali Karsybekov, sports veterans, coaches and representatives of the public.
During the event, the Flag of the Republic of Kazakhstan was solemnly handed over to the athletes who will carry the flag at the opening ceremony of the IX Asian Winter Games. At the opening ceremony of the Games in Harbin, the flag of our country will be carried by the Master of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan in hockey Adil Beketayev and the Master of Sports of the International Class in short track Olga Tikhonova. In turn, Adil Beketaev appeared before the crowd as the flag bearer and solemnly took the oath.
137 athletes from the Kazakhstan team will participate in the Games. They will perform in 10 disciplines from 6 sports (speed skating, short track, figure skating, biathlon, curling, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, freestyle, ski mountaineering, ice hockey). The national team will compete for 51 sets of medals.
Yerbol Myrzabosynov wished the athletes good luck and noted that the competition on the Yellow Continent is an important event for our country.
“There are only a few days left until the start of the 9th Winter Asian Games. The Kazakh national team is fully prepared for the Winter Asian Games. All necessary conditions have been created for this. In order to prepare for the Games in a quality manner, the national team held 137 training camps. Our athletes performed in 86 international competitions and won 33 medals. In general, our country has a good tradition of victories in winter sports. Today, our famous athletes, known not only to our country, but also to the whole world, perform at international winter competitions and are constantly among the winners. I wish good luck to all athletes participating in the upcoming Winter Asian Games. The Winter Asian Games are an important stage that not only demonstrates the sports potential of our country, but also encourages each athlete to achieve great achievements. Every victory of the national team is a great joy for our country! ”, – said Yerbol Myrzabosynov.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/tsm/press/news/details/928196