Belarusian sambists win 12 World Cup awards in Dushanbe

Twelve Belarusians became prize-winners of the 2026 World Sambo Cup held in the capital of Tajikistan, BelTA reports.

On the final day, competitions were held in the women's sports sambo. Silver in weight up to 50 kg was taken by Belarusian Anfis Kopaev, who passed two rivals during the tournament, but failed in the final. Three more Belarusians became bronze medalists: Elena Burdenko (up to 54 kg) and Vera Telyuk (up to 59 kg) received medals after defeats in the semifinals, and Tatiana Matsko (up to 65 kg) won the fight for third place.

In total, our team has four gold, one silver and seven bronze awards. Victories in the World Cup were won by Elizaveta Lapayeva (up to 59 kg, combat sambo), Ksenia Danilovich (up to 54 kg), Daniela Zhdan (up to 65 kg) and Maria Kondratieva (over 80 kg). In men, the third in their categories were Vladislav Burd (up to 58 kg), Maxim Romanov (up to 79 kg), Vladislav Norka (up to 88 kg) and Arseniy Malitsky (over 98 kg).

In the overall medal standings, the team of Belarus took third place after Russia and Uzbekistan. At the 2026 World Cup in Dushanbe, 234 sambists from 14 countries performed, including Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Israel, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Honduras and Australia.

Three Belarusians win sports sambo at the World Cup in Dushanbe