Rafis Kashapov asks supporters to share this letter of thanks with Polish and European journalists.

Rafis Kashapov asks supporters to share this letter of thanks with Polish and European journalists.

The message is in Polish please find below the English translation.

English translation:

LETTER OF GRATITUDE
To the Minister of Sport and Tourism of Poland Jakub Rutnicki
and Coach Zdzisław Brzozowski

On October 4, 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for Sports Affairs, veteran of the Tatar national movement Nafis Kashapov took an honorable third place at the international professional wrestling tournament in Warsaw. Athletes from about 40 countries participated in the competition, including the USA, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Kazakhstan.

We express our sincere gratitude to the Minister of Sport and Tourism of Poland Jakub Rutnicki and coach Zdzisław Brzozowski for providing political émigré Nafis Kashapov the opportunity to participate in the World Championship!

In Soviet times, in the early 1980s, in Tatarstan, when brothers Nafis and Rafis Kashapov practiced martial arts without a coach, leading athletes organized underground “championships” for them in the cities of Tatarstan. In the USSR, martial arts and karate were banned, so athletes trained in forests or basements. The Kashapov brothers never lost to any opponent, even those who were 20–30 kilograms heavier than them.

They had no professional training: they learned to fight before military service to be able to defend themselves from older soldiers and sergeants. The brothers trained against karatekas, wrestlers, and street fighters, mastering various martial arts directions independently to achieve true strength and skill.

Nafis Kashapov had a strong desire to train and compete in Warsaw, so he contacted the Polish coach, seven-time world champion in freestyle wrestling Zdzisław Brzozowski. Nafis had a match with him, after which the coach noted his exceptional physical qualities and invited him to participate in the World Championship among age groups.

After this meeting, Nafis had only four to five short days to prepare for the championship, where he lost to wrestlers from the USA. This was his first defeat in life. Nevertheless, at the age of 67, competing in the weight category up to 64 kg (with a body weight of 57 kg), Nafis Kashapov took third place. After the competition, many world champions noted that his performance was a real sensation — to step onto the mat at the World Championship for the first time and immediately become a prize-winner!

In the future, Nafis Kashapov plans to continue participating in international competitions, defending the honor with the flags of the Republic of Tatarstan and Poland. Already today, he is invited to championships from several countries.

Despite his venerable age, Nafis Kashapov at 66 easily performs the “sun” on the horizontal bar and sits in a split. Many of his fellow athletes insist that he apply to the Guinness Book of Records.

His plans include the development of sports and patriotic education as a priority of the state policy of Independent Tatarstan in the field of physical culture and sports.

In the photo: Nafis Kashapov and coach Zdzisław Brzozowski

Dear like-minded people!
Please send your suggestions and advice on sports issues to the email address of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile:
tatarstan.independent@gmail.com

Respectfully,
Press Service of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile