The fifth World Nomad Games, which concluded in Astana, captured the attention of leading international media outlets. Euronews, a 24-hour news channel, published a detailed report on the global event, covering all sports and intellectual disciplines featured in the Games. Also, BBC described the Nomad Games as the «Olympics» of Central Asia in their article. According to the media outlet, the main mission of the sporting event is to revive and promote the sports games historically common among nomads. Notably, special attention was given to hunting with birds of prey.
Foreign media focused on this discipline since 42 athletes from 10 countries came to Astana to compete against experienced masters for victory and prize places. Besides skilled hunters from Central Asia, participants from Spain, Hungary, and Canada also came here, with many making their debut. A total of 18 golden eagles and 12 falcons were involved in the kusbegilik contests. The spectacular events related to traditional Kazakh hunting captivated all attendees.
«I took part in the World Nomad Games for the first time, with the golden eagle provided by the hosts. We quickly got used to each other. I have been professionally caring for wild birds for 15 years. I believe, this experience was the reason for such a good result. I did not think that I would be able to reach the finals along with the hosts of the national game. I will try not to miss competitions of this kind in the future, as I gained an unforgettable experience,» shared Enric Freixa Mas, a participant in kusbegilik competition, Spain.
Nedim Kyzylbuga represents Türkiye at the competition. He has been hunting with birds of prey for about three years. His main activity is related to science, and he is currently writing his doctoral thesis, which explores the intricacies of this national sport.
«I’ve lived in Kazakhstan for three months, studied the ancient art of hunting with birds of prey, spent time with hunters, and visited them as a guest. I learned the Kazakh language, the intricacies of the craft, while getting acquainted with local traditions. Golden eagles are very smart. If you call it to your hand, it knows that you will feed it. And you can make friends with this bird,» noted Nedim Kyzylbuga, a participant in kusbegilik competition, Türkiye.
The fifth World Nomad Games in Astana became a central platform showcasing the vibrant and rich cultural diversity of Turkic peoples and nomadic civilization. The shared traditions, customs, and even elements of clothing once again demonstrated to the world the historically established unity of Turkic nations.
