Nariman Kurbanov

Nariman Kurbanov (born 6 December 1997) is a Kazakhstani artistic gymnast who is a pommel horse specialist. He is the 2023 and 2024 Asian champion on the pommel horse. He is also the 2022 Asian Games bronze medalist on the pommel horse. He qualified to represent Kazakhstan at the 2024 Summer Olympics through the 2024 FIG World Cup series.

Early life
Kurbanov began gymnastics when he was five years old in Almaty. He has been coached by his father, Khussaanzhan, since 2004.

Career
Kurbanov made his international debut at the 2017 World Championships and successfully performed a new skill on the pommel horse that was named after him in the Code of Points. He placed 54th on the pommel horse during the qualification round.

2018
At his second international competition, the Melbourne World Cup, Kurbanov won a gold medal on the pommel horse. He then placed seventh at the Baku World Cup. At the Koper World Challenge Cup, he won the silver medal behind Kōhei Kameyama. He represented Kazakhstan at the 2018 Asian Games, finishing sixth on the pommel horse and sixth with the Kazakhstan team. Then at the World Championships in Doha, he qualified for the pommel horse event final and placed fifth.

2019
Kurbanov began the season at the Baku World Cup, finishing fourth on the pommel horse. He then competed at the Koper World Challenge Cup despite a 40-degree fever, and he finished ninth. He competed a lower-difficulty routine at the Universiade but still won the silver medal behind Lee Chih-kai. This was the first time in 16 years that an artistic gymnast from Kazakhstan won a medal at the Universiade. Then at the World Championships, he placed 12th in the qualification round, making him the second reserve for the pommel horse final.

2020–21
Kurbanov competed at the 2020 Baku World Cup and finished fifth on the pommel horse in the qualification round. However, the event finals were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to competition in November 2020 at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup and won the pommel horse gold medal.

Kurbanov won a silver medal on the pommel horse behind Matvei Petrov at the 2021 Osijek World Challenge Cup. He also won the pommel horse silver medal at the 2021 Doha World Cup. At the 2021 World Championships, he finished fourth in the pommel horse final, only 0.134 away from winning a medal.

2022
Kurbanov won the pommel horse titles at the Doha and Baku World Cups. He also placed seventh at the Cottbus World Cup and eighth at the Cairo World Cup. He was the overall pommel horse winner of the 2022 FIG World Cup series. He then won the pommel horse gold medal at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup. Then at the Asian Championships, he won the silver medal on the pommel horse behind Jordan's Ahmad Abu Al-Soud.

Kurbanov competed at the Islamic Solidarity Games alongside Milad Karimi and Dmitriy Patanin, and they won the team bronze medal. Individually, Kurbanov won the silver medal on the pommel horse once again behind Abu Al-Soud. Then at the Paris World Challenge Cup, he won the pommel horse silver medal, and he won the gold medal at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup. He finished fourth on the pommel horse at the World Championships for the second year in a row.

2023
Kurbanov was the top qualifier for the pommel horse final at the Cottbus World Cup but won the bronze medal in the final. One week later, he won the gold medal at the Doha World Cup. He also won the gold at the Baku World Cup. He won the overall World Cup series pommel horse title for the second year in a row. Then at the Asian Championships, he won a bronze medal with his Kazakhstan teammates, and he won the pommel horse title.

Kurbanov competed at the World University Games, winning the silver medal on the pommel horse behind Lee Chih-kai. Then at the Asian Games, he won the bronze medal behind Lee and Ryota Tsumura. He finished 16th in the qualification round of the World Championships, failing to qualify for the event final.

2024
Kurbanov registered to compete in the 2024 FIG World Cup series, which served as an Olympic qualifier. The top two eligible gymnasts on each apparatus would earn an Olympic berth, and the pommel horse field was predicted to be especially competitive. At the first event in Cairo, Kurbanov fell off the pommel horse, but he came back to win the gold medal at the second event in Cottbus. He then finished fourth at the events in Baku and Doha. With these results, Kurbanov finished second overall and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Kurbanov also competed in the 2024 World Challenge Cup series. At the first event in Antalya, he won the silver medal on the pommel horse by one-tenth of a point behind Ahmad Abu Al-Soud. He then won the gold medal at the event in Varna. He successfully defended his title at the Asian Championships.

Personal life
Kurbanov graduated from the Kazakh Academy of Sport and Tourism with a degree in coaching. In 2022, he graduated from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University with a law degree.

Eponymous skill
Kurbanov has a pommel horse skill named after him in the Code of Points.