Janarbek Kenjeev (also ''Zhanarbek Kenzheyev'', russian: Жанарбек Кенжеев; born August 5, 1985, in Talas) is an amateur Kyrgyz Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's light heavyweight category. Considered one of Asia's top wrestlers in his decade, Kenjeev has collected a total of five medals at the Asian Championships, picked up two bronze in the 84-kg division at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

(2006 and 2010), and also represented his nation

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

, as a 19-year-old teen, at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Throughout his sporting career, Kenjeev trains for Sduschor 1 Wrestling Club in

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

, under his personal coach Hakim Makhmudov. Kenjeev qualified for the Kyrgyz squad in the men's 84 kg class at the

by gaining an allocated bid and placing fourth from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

. He lost three straight matches to Sweden's

Ara Abrahamian Ara Abrahamian ( hy , Արա Աբրահամյան; born 27 July 1975) is an Armenian-Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 S ...

, Japan's

Shingo Matsumoto is an amateur Japanese Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's light heavyweight category. He won a gold and a bronze medal for his division at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and at the 2006 Asian Games ...

, and Slovakia's

Attila Bátky Attila Bátky (born 23 January 1973) is an amateur Slovak Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's light heavyweight category. He won a bronze medal for his division at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in Créteil, France, earning hi ...

in the four-man prelim pool, finishing thirteenth overall in the final standings. At the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, Kenjeev came strong in the same tournament, and proceeded to take home the bronze medal in a match against the host nation's Idrees Rahman with a 14–6 decision. Kenjeev also sought his bid to compete for his second Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and possibly

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, but finished farther from the top spot twice in the Olympic Qualification Tournament. Despite a double Olympic setback, Kenjeev managed to collect another bronze medal in the 84-kg division at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

Guangzhou, China Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...

, outclassing India's Manoj Kumar by a three-point advantage. Ten years after competing in his first Olympics, Kenjeev reached the peak of his sporting career as he defeated Iranian wrestler Yousef Ghaderian for the gold in the 80-kg division at the

2014 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships was held at the Daulet Sport Complex in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event took place from April 23 to April 27, 2014. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's ...

Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

, producing a remarkable medal tally of five (the other contained a silver and three bronze).

References

External links

* 1985 births Living people Kyrgyzstani male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Kyrgyzstan Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2002 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2006 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2010 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in wrestling People from Talas, Kyrgyzstan Wrestlers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for Kyrgyzstan Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games {{Kyrgyzstan-wrestling-bio-stub