Nurlan Altynbekovich Koizhaiganov ( kz, Нұрлан Алтынбекұлы Қойжайғанов, ''Nūrlan Altynbekūly Qoijaiğanov''; born March 27, 1977, in

Ayagoz Ayagoz or Ayakoz ( kk, Аягөз, ''Aiagöz''), formerly Sergiopol (russian: Сергиополь), is a city of regional significance in Kazakhstan, the administrative centre of Ayagoz District, Ayagoz district of East Kazakhstan Region. Popul ...

) is a retired amateur Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's lightweight category. He scored top five finishes in the 60-kg division in two consecutive editions of the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

(1998 and 2002), and later represented his nation

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Before being retired from wrestling in 2005, Koizhaiganov also trained throughout his sporting career at Professional Sport Club Daulet in

Semipalatinsk Semey ( kk, Семей, Semei, سەمەي; cyrl, Семей ), until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk (russian: Семипала́тинск) and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala ( kk, Алаш-қала, ''Alaş-qala''), is a city in eastern Kazakhst ...

, under his personal coach Kanat Nurlasiev. Koizhaiganov qualified for the Kazakh squad in the men's 60 kg class at the

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Earlier in the process, he placed first in his respective category from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Tashkent, Uzbekistan Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous ...

to guarantee a spot on the Kazakh wrestling team. He easily ousted Italy's Paolo Fucile in his opening match by a quick 7–0 margin, and then overwhelmed 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Akaki Chachua of Georgia 7–6 in the prelim pool to clinch his spot for the next round of the competition. Koizhaiganov lost to neighboring Russia's Aleksey Shvetsov in the quarterfinal match at 1–3, and to Japan's

Makoto Sasamoto is an amateur Japanese Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's lightweight category. He is a three-time Olympian, a two-time Asian Games medalist ( 2002 in Busan, South Korea and 2006 in Doha, Qatar), and a bronze medalist at the 2005 ...

in a consolation playoff with a comfortable 4–0 verdict, dropping him to sixth in the final standings.

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database
1977 births Living people Kazakhstani male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Kazakhstan Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1998 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2002 Asian Games People from Ayagoz Sportspeople from East Kazakhstan Region Asian Games competitors for Kazakhstan {{Kazakhstan-wrestling-bio-stub