"Fighting is in our blood": A Kazakh athlete returns to sports after mastering a skilled trade.

He was part of the national team of Kazakhstan in Greco-Roman wrestling, training alongside legends of the sport. Today, he is a powerlifter winning awards among veterans and a master of valve repair. A correspondent from Caravan.kz met with Oleg Pekuchev to hear firsthand how sports can transform a person's life and why individuals don't feel tired after training "for themselves," but instead experience a surge of energy.

From a young age, Oleg Pekuchev was drawn to sports. Starting in the first grade, he wanted to join a sports club. The first coach to visit the school was a gymnastics coach who turned Oleg down due to his robust physique. Nearby, there was a table tennis section that Oleg began attending from the first grade. A year later, after achieving some success, he was transferred to the city section at the Sports Palace. Oleg might have become a tennis player if not for the intervention of a neighbor, who was a classmate of his sister.

“This neighbor dragged me, an 8-year-old boy, into Greco-Roman wrestling, which was then referred to as classical wrestling. The section was quite far from home, but since there was an express bus and a strong desire to attend training, my parents consented. As a result, at that age, I traveled alone by bus from the suburbs to the city center. The neighbor, as it turned out, quit the section after two weeks, while I continued to practice Greco-Roman wrestling until I was 24,” Oleg Pekuchev recounted.

Oleg's first coach was Vladimir Georgievich Seredin, who still trains future champions at the Republican College of Sports and is a distinguished coach of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Under such a remarkable mentor, Oleg's success in classical (Greco-Roman) wrestling came swiftly—he became a multiple champion and prize-winner of the Republic of Kazakhstan championships in his age category, as well as a prize-winner in adult tournaments and international wrestling competitions, participating twice in the World Wrestling Championships for youth and cadets.

“The Kazakhstan national team trained at the 'Dostyk' sports complex back then—we were always taken there as children. I remember witnessing the championship of the Soviet Union when our celebrated wrestler Daulet Turlykhanov became the champion of the USSR once again. We were just kids, and I still recall the vivid emotions and impressions. Later, with my results, I made it to the national team, which was coached by the outstanding coach of the USSR team, Gennady Andreevich Sapunov, during the Olympic preparation cycle for the Atlanta Olympics. At that time, the Kazakhstan team was represented by renowned legendary athletes such as Yuri Melnychenko, Mkhitar Manukyan, Bakhtiyar Bayseitov, Sergey Matvienko, and Daulet Turlykhanov. It was an honor and motivation for me to be alongside these great wrestlers and to spar during warm-up exercises with some of them.

Oleg Pekuchev balanced his sports training with studies at the Almaty College of Sports named after Khadzhimukan Munaypasov (now RKS) and later graduated from the Academy of Sports and Tourism with a degree in coaching. At the peak of his strength, Oleg suffered an injury that prevented him from realizing his full potential in high-level sports, leading him to focus on coaching children. Everything was going well until the economic crisis struck in the early years of independence, forcing the school to close, and he had to learn other specialties—friends invited him to a workshop specializing in the refurbishment of Japanese cars. He then worked as a security guard. His years in sports helped Oleg toughen his character and adapt to new life realities.

“Sports discipline you very well. You never give up. When mastering a new specialty, things didn't always work out at first. Others might have quit at the first signs of failure, but sports taught me that step by step, slowly, you can reach your goals,” Oleg Pekuchev explained.

Later, former colleagues informed Oleg of a vacant position at PRP “Energoremont.” He was invited, passed the interview, and began his period of working not only as a valve repair master but also entering a second sporting life.

He started going to the gym three times a week in the evenings, gradually regaining his physical fitness. At the gym, he met powerlifting coach Denis Bondik. Since 2012, Oleg has been engaged in powerlifting. At his very first tournament—the Almaty Championship in bench press—he immediately placed among the top three. This motivated him for further training. Five years later, as his coach had predicted, Oleg became a master of sports in bench press, tried out for the full powerlifting competition, and qualified for the Asian Championship among veterans through the Kazakhstan Championship. In 2019, Oleg made his debut at the veteran Asian Championship, where he won medals in two of the three powerlifting disciplines—bronze in squats and silver in bench press.

At work, with the help of enthusiastic colleagues, a small gym was set up where employees maintain and enhance their physical fitness during lunch breaks. Here, he also serves as a mentor and coach for colleagues who wish to engage in sports for their own benefit. The atmosphere in the gym is “iron” and “lifting”—various barbells, machines for strengthening back, arms, and legs, but there’s also a table for table tennis.

Oleg is grateful to the leadership of the enterprise and the trade union organization for supporting his initiatives and the healthy leisure activities of employees.

“Everyone thinks that people leave the gym and don’t work. In fact—not at all. I can give you many examples of how colleagues work even harder after training. Research shows that after workouts, 'happiness hormones'—serotonin and dopamine—are released, leading to a boost in energy that lasts until the end of the workday. I see them competing and motivating each other; some make more progress, while others adapt to them. There’s a wonderful friendly competitive sports atmosphere. But it's important to approach training wisely. Some guys say, ‘We want more, we want more,’ and I tell them, ‘No, don’t overdo it. I always remember my first coaches' words that you should leave training a little bit ‘hungry,’ because otherwise, it leads to over-saturation of the body and fatigue of the nervous system,’” Oleg advises his colleagues.

As a former wrestler, he keeps an eye on the performances of Kazakhstani wrestlers at international competitions, maintains contact with his first coach, and notes that the team’s results could be even better.

“Wrestling, I believe, is a national sport for Kazakhstan, not just Kazakhsha Kures, but any form—freestyle, Greco-Roman, judo, and other types. It’s in our blood. I would like to see greater achievements in these sports at the Olympics, which should be supported by increasing the share of free sports sections for children, who today are difficult to detach from the virtual world of gadgets, computers, and tablets. However, it is also important to have free sports sections for adults. A healthy and educated nation is the main wealth and resource of any successful state. I believe there should be a well-thought-out government program promoting and supporting a healthy lifestyle and the development of mass sports, and I am concerned about those young people who are passionate about sports and are forced to spend 25,000 to 50,000 tenge per month just to pursue their favorite activities. Meanwhile, all sorts of unhealthy products are much cheaper, creating a strong temptation, and people more quickly gravitate towards the easier option that requires less willpower,” Oleg Pekuchev concluded.

In Oleg's near future plans, he aims not only to perform his valve repair work diligently but also, with the support of colleagues and management, to prepare for the upcoming Kazakhstan Championship in powerlifting, where he intends to qualify for the Asian Championship 2025, which will take place in Hong Kong. Despite the passing years, Oleg feels youthful and is confident that he will achieve even greater victories in sports, his career, and life.