Why are the medalists of the Asian Games skipping the World Championship?

Some of the Kazakh biathletes who won medals at the 2025 Winter Asian Games have returned home. A correspondent from Caravan.kz learned what prevented them from achieving gold in the relay and why some of the medalists are skipping the World Championship in biathlon currently taking place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

At the Asian Games, medals were won by Vladislav Kireev and Vadim Kuraless in individual races, along with Alexander Mukhin, Aset Dyusenov, Kirill Bauer, and Vladislav Kireev in the relay.

Only Vladislav Kireev and Vadim Kuraless from the Asian Games participants are attending the World Championship, joined by Nikita Akimov and Ivan Darin, who missed the continental competitions.

Upon returning home, 24-year-old Kirill Bauer, who has already added medals from the Winter Universiade and Winter Asian Games to his collection this year, stated that his results could have been better if it weren't for his nerves. He explained his absence from the World Championship by the need to recover a bit after a busy start to 2025.

“At the moment, part of the team has flown to the World Championship, which has already begun, while I will be at home for seven days before heading to the World Cups to strengthen the team and maintain full qualification for the Olympics,” said Kirill Bauer.

The biathlete from Semey shared that he is drawn to this sport because of the discipline and the opportunity to build character.

“I started training with coach Ramziya Musulmanova in my childhood, and she is still my personal coach. At first, I would sometimes attend training and sometimes not, but later I decided to stay and train seriously. Because sport is primarily about discipline and character, and this will have a positive impact on my life in the future; I advise everyone to engage their children in sports,” said Kirill Bauer.

For the women's team, Aisha Rakisheva and Galina Vishnevskaya (Sheporenko), who did not compete at the Asian Games, went to the World Championship. Medalists from the continental relays Olga Poltoranina, Darya Klimina (Usanova), Arina Kryukova, and Elizaveta Beletskaya returned home and are cheering for their compatriots while watching the broadcast.

“I personally feel that I am not ready for the World Championship right now. Plus, we are tired after the Asian Games, and we are currently gathering strength, as we will go to the next stage of the World Cup in Nove Mesto. The main goal is to score as many points as possible to compete with a full team of 3-4 people at the 2026 Olympics,” said Elizaveta Beletskaya.

The 28-year-old athlete from VKO did not start her biathlon journey immediately. Beletskaya recounted that in her childhood, her mother initially sent her to a music school for piano lessons, but she found it uninteresting, which led to her skipping classes. One day, her grandmother, unaware of this, suggested that instead of sitting for hours at a musical instrument, it would be better to choose a more active pursuit. Thus, Elizaveta found herself in biathlon, where she never skipped training due to the strict coaching of Vasily Golota. Now her personal coaches are Mikhail and Tatiana Dudchenko.

“They are strict, but it helps me. When I get scolded, I perform better,” said Beletskaya.

Beletskaya believes that her performance at the Asian Games could have been more successful, but nerves let her down. According to Elizaveta, her shooting did not go well, even though she considers this part of the biathlon race to be her strong suit compared to running. Additionally, strong winds at the stadium hindered her from winning a higher medal in the relay than bronze.