The 22nd Congress of the International Kurash Association was held in Astana, Kazakhstan. A delegation from Uzbekistan, made up of leaders of the Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee (NOC), took part. In line with the agenda, delegates heard reports from the association’s leadership and reviewed the work carried out in 2025-2026.

Otabek Umarov, vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia and first deputy chairman of the NOC, addressed the meeting. He said extensive work is under way to take the development of kurash to a new level under Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is President of Uzbekistan, chairman of the NOC and honorary president of the International Kurash Association, and that the sport’s standing internationally continues to grow.

A new president of the International Kurash Association (IKA) will be elected at its 2027 Congress. At this year’s gathering, the Congress put forward Umarov’s candidacy to lead the organization, citing his many years of experience in international sport and his contribution to the development of sport in Uzbekistan and across Asia. The aim is to develop kurash steadily and strengthen its place on the world stage. Delegates unanimously backed the initiative.

The election itself will take place at the organization’s Congress next year.

The meeting approved the national federations of Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Sri Lanka, Jordan, France, Syria, Switzerland, Armenia, Italy, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as members of the international association. Delegates also discussed changes to the rules for organizing competitions and improvements to the refereeing and ranking systems.