Rio Olympics silver medalist Levit, Niyazymbetov to get $250,000 bonuses

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan will award ‘gold medal' bonuses to silver medalists of the Rio Olympics - boxers Vassiliy Levit and Adilbek Niyazymbetov, Kazinform correspondent has learnt from the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation (KBF).

"The awarding ceremony of the $250,000 bonuses with the participation of Levit and Niyazymbetov will take place in Astana on December 8. Our athletes demonstrated top-class boxing skills, uncompromising will to win and showed the entire world the genuine Olympic spirit," the KBF said in a statement.

It was President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev who declared on August 26 that Vassiliy Levit and Adilbek Niyazymbetov will be encouraged on a par with the Kazakhstani Olympic champions and receive $250,000 apiece.

Recall that Kazakhstani boxer Vassiliy Levit clinched silver at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after losing to Russian Yevgeniy Tishchenko in the final. Many boxing fans and mass media believed that the loss was a controversial one and the Levit deserved ‘gold'. Kazakhstani Internet users urged the authorities to honor Levit and award him the gold medal bonus.