Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country that has a very mountainous and landlocked. Kyrgyzstan was once part of the Soviet Union, and did not compete in world sport under its own name until the 1990s. As with many of the countries of the same terrain, Kyrgyzstan has a very strong horse-riding culture which is why it is understandably part of their sports history as well. Kök Berü is their traditional sport that includes riding on horseback while going for a goat's carcass.

Recently however, Kyrgyzstan has fallen in love with football. Since their independence from the Soviet Union, they established the Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic which governs everything related to football including the Kyrgyzstan national football team and their national team is a member of the Asian Football Confederation through the Central Asian Football Federation.

Another sport that Kyrgyzstan loves is wrestling. Kyrgyzstan took the silver and bronze medals in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games by Kanatbek Begaliev and Ruslan Tiumenbaev respectively for Greco-Roman wrestling. From a culture of strong physical competition, it is just fitting that they love watching one on one physical competition too.

Ice hockey is also quite popular in Kyrgyzstan and their national team took their first major win in an international competition in the 2011 Asian Winter Games Premier Division when they took the perfect 6-game 6-win streak.

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Kyrgyzstan. If you know of something that should be listed here, please send a comment.

Popular sports of Kyrgyzstan

Traditional or Regional Sports of Kyrgyzstan

  • Buzkashi (called "Kök Berü" in Kyrgyzstan)

Kyrgyzstan Sporting Success

  • Kyrgyzstan won one bronze medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics
  • Kyrgyzstan won three medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (1 silver and 2 bronze)
  • Kyrgyzstan won three medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (2 silver and 1 bronze)
  • Kyrgyzstan won six medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics (2 silver and 4 bronze)

Great athletes from Kyrgyzstan

  • Aisuluu Tynybekova (Wrestling)
  • Akzhol Makhmudov (Wrestling)
  • Zholaman Sharshenbekov (Wrestling)
  • Meerim Zhumanazarova (Wrestling)

Kyrgyzstan at major events

Upcoming sporting events in Kyrgyzstan

  • VI World Nomad Games: The opening ceremony of this event will be held at the Azattyk Arena in Bishkek on August 31, 2026
  • X-Waters Issyk-Kul: This event will be held at the Lake Issyk-Kul, hosted at the Caprice Resort in August 29, 2026

Annual sporting events held in Kyrgyzstan

  • Kok Boru: This is a traditional game played by two teams on horseback. The goal of the game is for either of the teams to grab a goat carcass and carry it to the finish line.
  • Kyrgyzstan National Games

Sporting Facilities in Kyrgyzstan

  • Azattyk Arena (Bishkek)
  • Dolen Omurzakov Stadium (Bishkek)