“I am proud of the team and the country”: Kazakh athlete on historic Asian Games triumph

The Kazakh crew won the rowing event in the men’s coxless pair discipline.

“Of course, right now I feel joy and relief that everything we had been working toward came together. I am proud of myself, the team and the country. It is very pleasant. After the first thousand meters, the second half of the distance went quite smoothly. We started catching up with our rivals at pace, and based on our strength and condition, it was already clear that we had a reserve that could allow us to finish high. We were ready for this, for what we had been working toward. All the work was done exactly as planned,” Yakovlev said after the victory.

According to the rower, one of the reasons for the major success was the arrival of a new consultant in the national team.

“For me, these are already my fifth Asian Games. Before this, I had failed to win gold four times. I had a bronze medal in 2014 in Incheon. Then I competed in the single sculls and was close to the podium several times. So now, at my fifth Asian Games, winning gold is very pleasant. We now have a consultant. I think we started doing the right work, and here is the result,” the athlete noted.

Ivan Chernukhin spoke about how important this medal was for him.

“The main thing was not to create chaos in the boat. Everyone understood that we simply had to row to the finish the same way we were going. This medal means a lot to me. I am from Uralsk, from a small village. I have already imagined a little how I will come home with a gold medal, to my family. I think everyone is rooting for me: people from the village, relatives, neighbors. My phone is simply blowing up with congratulations right now,” he said.

As a reminder, Yakovlev and Chernukhin’s gold became Kazakhstan’s eighth at the 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan.