The “Shardara armsport” sports club is getting more and more popular with every tournament, because of its champions. The A1 Russian OPEN 2014 was no exception: three fighters competed out of Shardara and each one of them showed a great fight. Today we speak with one of them - Kydyrgali Ongarbaev, who had a lot of impact on the final scores.

Kydyrgali, tell us about your road to armwrestling.

I was born in 1994 in Shardara, west Kazakhstan. My armwrestling adventure began when I was 7. During my career I’ve managed to become the International Master of Sports of Kazakhstan Republic, and win many national championships. Presently, I’m a Kazakhstan right-hand champion. I’m also a three times Asian champion. I’ve won gold in juniors category in the 2012 WC’s, and bronze in seniors in the up to 80 kg category. I compete both amateur and professional. Last year I placed third in my category in the Nemiroff World Cup.

Why did you start in the A1?

In our club, “Shardara armsport”, every fighter plans their calendar at the start of a new year. This year we planned to send three contestants to A1. I’ve made the list because of my achievements, especially because of my performance in the Nemiroff 2013. As a result, three people went to Moscow – Mazghan Shamiev (won bronze in left hand, category up to 70 kg), Shynbolat Rayhan, who placed fourth in 80 kg, and me – up to 90 kg, two medals – silver and bronze.

Which victories do you remember the most from this tournament?

With competition as hard as in Nemiroff and A1, all my victories came with a price. Each opponent is strong and dangerous, there is no other kind at that level, so you need to concentrate before each fight. But I was very happy to beat Evgenyi Prudnik and Spartai Zoloyev in left arm, and Artem Taynov and Vladimir Mnatsakanian in right. Each of them is a great sportsman. It was an honor to fight them.

What is the secret of your success in A1?

I think the secret is preparation and discipline, I took my preparations seriously. My club gave me every opportunity to train fruitfully. I want to thank my coach – Armand Karsybaev. It was he who created the club, got some 300 people to train there and got us all into armwrestling, which brought us together, made us strong and great. We are all very grateful for that.

Artur Grigorian

photo RAA