Raimkul Khudoynazarovich Malakhbekov (; born 16 August 1974 in

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

Tajik SSR The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Re ...

) is one of highest titled boxers of Russia, who won two Olympic medals in the Men's Bantamweight (54 kg) category.

Biography

Malakhbekovs origins take root in

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, which is also known as Pamir. He graduated from the Tajik Institute of Physical Culture, majoring in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

. His interest and passion for boxing grew when as a kid he visited the Dushanbe Sports Palace with his older brothers, who were training as boxers. It is in Dushanbe that he met his future coach and mentor, Tsiren Balzanov (), who was initially his trainer in Dushanbe and, after leaving for his native Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation, invited Raimkul to

Kalmykia Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia,; , ''Khalmg Tanghch'' is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavr ...

. Although born and brought up in Tajikistan, Balzanov left after a civil war engulfed Tajikistan and his grandfather's name, noble status and part of property were rehabilitated. His grandfather is said to have been from a noble family, had high military rank, and numerous honors for his heroism in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, who was subjected to repression and expulsion to Kangurt of Tajikistan, where Balzanov was born. In 1993, at the age of 19 Malakhbekov left a Tajikistan devastated by civil war for Russia to seek better opportunities. Initially, he settled in Moscow, but after reconnecting with his former trainer Balzanov he moved to

Elista Elista (, ;"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. Москва и Санкт-Петербург, 1997, стр. 1402 , ''Elst'', )The approximate pronunciation of the Cyr ...

and resumed his boxing career. The right mixture of his unique physical conditioning, hard work and determination noticed by his trainer promised a bright boxing career.

Boxing Career and achievements

In his boxing career Malakhbekov won two Olympic medals in the Men's Bantamweight (54 kg) category. He also won the title at the World Amateur Boxing Championships in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, and the European title in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

in Bursa, Turkey and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Perm, Russia Perm (, ; ; ), previously known as Yegoshikha, Yagoshikha (; 1723–1781) and Molotov (; 1940–1957), is the administrative centre of Perm Krai in the European part of Russia. It sits on the banks of the Kama River near the Ural Mountains, co ...

. During his boxing career he has won seven times the Russian National Championships and numerous other tournaments. He was also among the winners of the 1998

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

in New York USA.

Olympic results

1996 (bronze medalist) *Defeated José Miguel Cotto (Puerto Rico) 16-6 *Defeated Abdelaziz Boulehia (Algeria) RSC 3 (2:52) *Defeated Davaatseren Jamgan (Mongolia) 21-9 *Lost to

Arnaldo Mesa Arnaldo Mesa Bonell (6 December 1967 – 17 December 2012) was an amateur boxer from Cuba, who won the silver medal for his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. In the final of the Bantamweight (– 54 kg) d ...

(Cuba) 14-14, referee decision 2000 (silver medalist) *Defeated Ceferino Labarda (Argentina) RSC 3 *Defeated Theimuraz Khurtsilava (Georgia) 13-7 *Defeated Alisher Rahimov (Uzbekistan) 16-10 *Defeated Sergey Danilchenko (Ukraine) 15-10 *Lost to Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (Cuba) 12-18

End of Boxing Career

Malakhbekov officially ended his career after his last fight at the European Championship in Perm in 2002, in which he won the gold medal. He said in an interview to a journalist that "the sport is becoming more and more business oriented, rather than art oriented".

Personal life

Malakhbekov is married to Sokina and lives in

. His hobby is cars. He loves cars and owns a

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

. He is enjoying his new profession of politician as a delegate to the parliament of Kalmykia and an advisor to the President for Physical Education and Sports. He also enjoys the status of an Honored Hero of Kalmykia and Honored Master of Sports of Russia,

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

and Order for Merits before the country of second degree.

External links

Tajiks in Russia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malakhbekov, Raimkul 1974 births Living people Tajikistani male boxers Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Russia Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Martial artists from Dushanbe Olympic medalists in boxing Tajikistani emigrants to Russia Russian people of Tajikistani descent Soviet male boxers Russian male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Bantamweight boxers Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games 20th-century Russian sportsmen