Khalid Hotak Retires After Winning Historic Third Asian Games Bronze

Mohammad Khalid Hotak has ended his competitive wushu career with a third Asian Games bronze medal, closing a run that has made him Afghanistan’s most successful athlete by total medals at the continental Games.

The 35-year-old Afghanistan wushu captain finished with bronze in the men’s 70kg sanda competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after losing his semifinal to China’s Ma Shuo on Wednesday.

His latest medal follows bronze at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022, giving Hotak medals at three consecutive editions of the Asian Games.

No Afghan athlete had previously won medals at three editions of the Games.

Hotak began his final Asian Games campaign in Japan with victory over a Yemeni opponent in the Round of 16 before meeting Indonesia’s Jumanta in the quarterfinal.

A 2–0 victory over the Indonesian secured Hotak a place in the semifinals and guaranteed him at least bronze.

China’s Ma Shuo ended his attempt to reach the final, winning their semifinal by points.

The defeat left Hotak with another bronze, eight years after he won his first Asian Games medal in Jakarta.

He competed in the men’s 65kg division at the 2018 Games before moving to 70kg, where he took bronze at Hangzhou and again at Aichi-Nagoya.

Hotak’s retirement brings an end to a career in which his Asian Games record became a defining achievement.

His third bronze also contributed to Afghanistan’s medal haul in Japan. Fellow wushu athlete Hamed Ashrafi won bronze in the men’s 65kg sanda competition, while cyclist Fariba Hashimi took silver in the women’s road race.

Hotak leaves the competition with a record that spans three Asian Games and three medals — one in Jakarta, one in Hangzhou and one in Aichi-Nagoya.