At the Gennady Arzumanov Memorial in Tashkent, Kazakhstan’s Ivan Ivanov managed to deliver a stronger shot put performance than at his previous outing — the Asian Championships held in Gumi, South Korea.
The international competition in memory of Uzbekistan’s honoured coach Gennady Arzumanov took place on Sunday, June 22. The shot put event featured six participants: four from Uzbekistan, and one each from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Two of the athletes had also competed at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi in late May. Ivan Ivanov placed 11th there with a mark of 17.92 metres, while Uzbekistan’s Doston Radzhabov came 13th with 17.33 metres — out of 15 competitors.
These two became the main contenders in the shot put on June 22, the final day of the Arzumanov Memorial. However, Doston Radzhabov couldn’t stop Ivan Ivanov from taking the win. The Kazakh athlete threw over 18 metres in three of his six valid attempts. His best result was 18.80 metres, with the other two top throws measuring 18.43 and 18.70. The Uzbek athlete placed second with 17.45 metres. The rest of the field lagged significantly behind.
As for Ivan Ivanov, to be frank, his performance at the Asian Championships in Gumi fell short of expectations — especially considering it was arguably his most important competition of 2025. Still, even with his Tashkent result, he wouldn’t have placed much higher in Gumi — likely 7th.
On the bright side, there’s hope that this victory in Tashkent marks the beginning of Ivan Ivanov’s return to the ranks of Asia’s top shot putters.
In the photo: Ivan Ivanov wins the shot put at the Arzumanov Memorial.
