Akzhol Makhmudov

Until senior level

Makhmudov took up wrestling aged six, following his two elder brothers Beksultan Makhmudov and Syimyk Makhmudov.^[1][7] He later won two Asian cadet championships and the 2017 Junior Asian championships.^[8][9] Makhmudov also became the cadet world champion in 2016,^[10] and won a silver medal at the 2017 Junior World Championships in Tampere.^[11]

2018

In 2018, Makhmudov had his first senior level tournament when he entered the Kyrgyzstan National Wrestling Championships. He won the 77 kg division,^[12] and was included to the senior national team.

At the 2018 Asian Championships, Makhmudov competed in the 72 kg category, and won Ahmad Mahmoud Dashan (12–2), then Kuldeep Malik (8–0) and Tomohiro Inoue (7–0). In the final he faced the 2017 World Wrestling Championships silver medalist Demeu Zhadrayev. He won 8–6, becoming the youngest ever wrestler from Kyrgyzstan to earn a gold medal at senior level at the Asian Championships.^[13][14]

At the 2018 Asian Games, Makhmudov moved back to the 77 kg division and reached the final, where he lost to Mohammadali Geraei.^[1]

At the 2018 Junior World Championships, he lost to Islam Opiev of Russia in the quarter-final but went on to wrestle in the repechage stage and won a bronze medal against Kamal Bey of the US in their rematch of the Junior World Championships final.

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Summer Olympic Games were postponed from their originally scheduled 2020 start date, to the Summer of 2021. Missing out on Olympic Qualification, Makhmudov had to wrestle at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Makhmudov won all three of his matches and obtained gold,^[15] which awarded him Olympic qualification.

To start his first Olympic journey, Makhmudov defeated Tunisia's Lamjed Maafi by 11-0 technical superiority, a winner from the Africa and Oceania Wrestling Qualification tournament,^[16] he then defeated former two-time European Champion, Rafig Huseynov of Azerbaijan which won him a place in the semi-finals. Faced with 2-time European Championships and Games medallist, Armenian wrestler Karapet Chalyan,^[17] and beat his Armenian opponent 6-2 to advance him into the finals, opposite 2012 Olympic Silver medallist, and 2019 World champion, Hungary's Tamás Lőrincz. After a low-scoring six minutes, Lőrincz won the match 2-1, with Makhmudov leaving with a silver medal^[18]

Makhmudov returned to the mat at the 2022 Asian Wrestling Championships held in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.^[19] Makhmudov won the gold medal by beating Maxat Yerezhepov in the final at 77 kg.^[20]

He won one of the bronze medals in the 77 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.^[21]

Makhmudov is the third child in a family of a salesman. He currently studies at the Kyrgyz State Law Academy in Bishkek.^[22] He is said to originally be from the Nookat Region, Osh Oblast (Ноокатский район, Ошская область) in southern Kyrgyzstan. He enjoys playing billiards and tennis.^[23]

Makhmudov started wrestling in Osh. He moved to Bishkek in 6th grade and began training under Merited Master of Sport, Zhenish Satybaldiev. In 8th grade he began training at the Olympic reserve under coach, Meyrambek Akhmetov.^[24]