The Federation of Chessboxing, a hybrid sport in which chess and boxing alternate in rounds, was opened in Kyrgyzstan. Its president Abasbek Domorbaev announced at press conference in Bishkek.
According to him, the National Federation has received international recognition and joined the World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO).
«Chessboxing, a sport that combines striking and intellectual sports, appeared in 2004 in Germany, and the first world championship was held in the Netherlands. Interest in it is very high. Chessboxing combines an Olympic and a non-Olympic sport. The idea is that after a tough fight, if an athlete wins at chess, it gives him an edge. This sport is new for our country. Trial competitions have already been held in Kara-Balta. Chess was played online. I am familiar with both chess and boxing, so I decided to support the federation. So far, Kyrgyzstan is represented at the international level by one athlete, and we will try to prepare juniors. We will create branches of the federation in Batken, Osh, Cholpon-Ata and will attract athletes from the regions,» he said.
According to him, the main task of the federation is to create a powerful competitive team of the republic, which will represent Kyrgyzstan at international tournaments. The team consists of: men, women, cadets and juniors. Negotiations have already been held with boxing and chess federations on cooperation. The next scheduled competition is the Asian Championship.
«Athletes from Kyrgyzstan plan to participate in the Asian Championship on June 4-7, which will be held in Calcutta, and a world congress will also be held there, in which delegates from Kyrgyzstan will take part. The European Championship will be held in Italy. We will train hard,» Abasbek Domorbaev said.
The representative of the federation expressed hope that in the near future chessboxing would arouse great interest among both boxers and chess players, and a strong team would appear in Kyrgyzstan.
Source: 24.kg News Agency