Samirkhon Ababakirov
Samirkhon Ababakirov | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 2003 Kazakhstan |
| Occupation | Taekwondo athlete |
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Known for | Competing at the 2024 Olympic Games; gold medalist at the 2025 World University Games |
Samirkhon Ababakirov (born 26 September 2003) is a taekwondo athlete from Kazakhstan. He took part in the 2024 Olympic Games and secured the gold medal at the 2025 World University Games.
Career
At the 2022 World Taekwondo Championships held in Mexico, Ababakirov advanced to the quarter-final stage before being defeated by Vito Dell'Aquila. He also represented Kazakhstan in the flyweight division at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku.
In March 2024, he advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament, thereby earning a spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the Olympic competition, he participated in the 58kg category but was eliminated by Dell'Aquila.
Ababakirov claimed a silver medal at the WT President's Cup Asian Region event in Tai'an, China, in April 2025, where he was bested by South Korea’s Jang Jun in the final match. Later that year, he captured gold in the -63kg division at the Taekwondo at the 2025 Summer World University Games hosted in Germany, overcoming Türkiye’s Ömer Faruk Dayıoğlu in the final and defeating two-time Olympic medallist Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia during the semi-final. Additionally, he earned a bronze medal as part of the mixed team competition.
Entering as the top seed in the men's bantamweight category at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships, Ababakirov was ousted by eventual champion Jendoubi.