Do I need to confess my undying love for nomadic culture, or is it patently obvious?
And are there enough adjectives to do justice to the World Nomad Games? Can but try…
In a week when great Kazakhstan has picked up six glistening, shiny gold medals in the totally amazing WNG 2026 event currently full-steam-ahead on the stunning shores of the famous, iconic lake, Issyk Kul, it now leads the competitive medal table with an incredible and enviable haul of 18, over double that of their nearest challengers, host nation, beautiful Kyrgyzstan.
3 September alone saw a haul of Kazakh golds in audaryspak, sambo, kusbegilik, and tug-of-war.
Audaryspak is horseback wrestling, first place going to Daryn Otkelbay, who cleaned up in the under-90kg weight category. His teammate Syrym Izbasarov took the victory in the under-100kg category, making it three, having also won golds in 2016 and 2024.
Sambo is sometimes called Russian judo, which is a fair enough summary for now, but no Russian could stop the eventual winner of the 98+ kg category, Bolat Sapar.
Tug-of-war is Team GB’s speciality, and according to team member Sam Pollard, they picked up two great wins against South Korea and Brazil, but didn’t progress far enough to collect a medal.
This is perhaps a mild disappointment to a group who trained so hard, but coming a short way behind eventual winners, Kazakhstan, is almost as much an honour as taking part in the first place, and kudos to the British team for turning up and enriching the WNG. May you be back next time!
Meanwhile, as stated, Kazakhstan won two tug-of-war golds in both the 8-player version and the 4-player version, and it was noted how well they did when up against the Georgian team, whose stature would have intimated many an opponent.
Kusbegilik is hunting with birds of prey, an art not unknown to Western audiences, because of the successful production, the Eagle Huntress, but the skills haven’t made it that far west yet, and once again the Kazakh team picked up another gold, with Serikbolsyn Zhalgasuly triumphing.
The country has also won one silver and 11 bronze medals so far this week. It should be noted that competition is ongoing and this tally is likely to increase.
Another two days remain in the 2026 World Nomad Games, and with at least one competitor taking part in every event, there is the chance of more medals for Kazakhstan, but special mention to Team GB once more, who came with 46 athletes, including Mae Pollard, who excelled in mas wrestling despite only taking the sport up a few months ago.
Perhaps Great Britain could still join Kazakhstan on the final medal table before the games conclude on 6 September?
