Mourning Covid victims among Kazakh sports media community
Gone with the COVID: Losing the Best and Brightest
This is hard to believe, and even harder to accept. When your colleagues pass away they get a part of you with them. No more kindly advices from Dias Ilyasovich, no more compliments about another exquisite TV commentary performed by Amangeldy, no more phone calls to Yevgeny to congratulate him with a brilliant interview he had taken.
In less than a year, the grim reaper of a pandemic snatched three marquee personalities of the Kazakh sports journalism. Dias Omarov, Amangeldy Seitkhanov, Yevgeny Gaidamakin. We will remember them…
Dias Omarov (1940-2020), the Grand Master
An intellectual, big professional, undoubted authority both in sports and life, a fine teacher who kickstarted careers of more than one generation of sports journalists.
Every man has got his own flaws, but there was a strong impression that Dias Omarov hadn’t any at all. A great psychologist, he was sensitive towards the mood of a person whom he communicated, unfailingly gaining his or her admiration thanks to his openness and amiability.
Having dedicated his youth to football, with five seasons played for FC Kairat, his dream club since childhood, Dias entered sports journalism. He just came to stay forever.
He was the first Kazakhstan representative to join the host of commentators who covered Olympic Games, contributing into reports from the 1972 Munich and the 1980 Moscow events. In the Independence era, he presented live commentary on the competitions of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
It is impossible to name all the tournaments, venues and countries where he had been involved to create the big picture of breathtaking moments of top-class sport. A whole slew of journalists, considering themselves Dias Omarov’s disciples, confessed that they were struck by his humbleness and modesty, his genuine personal charm.
Having developed his own unique style as a sports commentator, he had established himself in the eyes of the audiences and colleagues as a source of fascination due to his encyclopedic knowledge, possession of vast collection of sporting and true-life stories, capability of getting fans excited as he captured through his microphone the very atmosphere of stadia and essence of competitive sport.
He has departed three and a half months short of his 80th anniversary, the news of his death causing a deep shock. For active until his last days, he lived a healthy life, playing football with his friends several times a week. Football was his first love and it stayed in his heart for his entire life.
Alim Anapyanov, veteran journalist:
“For every one who knew him, meeting with Dias Omarov always meant great joy, a feast for soul that gave additional strength to one’s creativity. His advices were valuable and non-obtrusive because he was a man of high culture and morality, a person of rich inner world and strong intellect. And today, I miss Dik, as we used to call him, and I am not the only one, we all miss him very much. In our hearts and memory, he is and always be the man who made a deep impact on Kazakhstan’s sport.”
In January 2021, to commemorate the memory of the Grand Master, his friends and relatives have dedicated him a book of recollection named Reportazh vyol Dias Omarov (which can be translated as Reported by Dias Omarov or Commentary Performed by Dias Omarov) that became a rarity as soon as it was published.
Amangeldy Seitkhanov (1969-2021), an Aqyn (Artist)
There is a big tradition of improvisational oral poetry, rooted in the Big Steppe, practiced by aqyns, the celebrated Kazakh folk poets. Amangeldy Seitkhanov, an unrivaled maestro of Kazakh-language sports commentary whose free speech flowed like a fresh spring, devoid of clutter and clichés, was a true successor to the famous aqyns of old times. He has been taken too soon, at the age of 52…
The aqyns competed in aitys, an artistic event build around them poets, and it was there where Amangeldy, while improving his skills, flourished as a young expert. Born in the village of Makanchi, Makanchi District of the Semipalatinsk Region (today – East Kazakhstan Region), he managed to reach top level in the aitys to gain popularity throughout an entire country as he hit the podium numerous times, winning official awards along with the admiration of the grateful crowd.
Also, the talented youngster had a passion for sports. Football football, the popular TV project launched by him in the 1990s during his spell at Kazakhstan television channel (today – Qazaqstan broadcasting company), is still remembered today by many domestic fans.
In 1997, Amangeldy came aboard Khabar Agency to set himself for plying the trade as its sports commentator until his demise. He covered UEFA Champions League and Europa League campaigns, FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro qualifiers, his voiceover accompanying big nights of the Kazakhstan national football team. He provided the Olympic Games held in Sydney, Lillehammer, Beijing, Vancouver, London, as well as the Asian Games in Busan, Doha, Incheon, with his vibrant performances. The majority of the important Kazakh success stories in various sports emerged hand in hand with his fabulous narration.
Seitkhanov’s high professional competence had been verified via such regalia as the Sports Journalist of the Year Awards granted by the Kazakh National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan and the Kazakhstan Sports Ministry; the Seidakhmet Berdikulov Prize established to honor the best national sports observers; the Official Letter of Appreciation by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Yes, he was a star in his own right.
Nurgazy Sasayev, journalist, the ASPK Executive Commitee member:
“Prior to Seitkhanov’s rise to fame, we had no Kazakh-speaking commentators of such level. Devoted to his rural roots, using the essential native language, avoiding loaned words from foreign vocabularies, Amangeldy conquered the hearts of the people from inner lands where he himself belonged. The superb master of commentary, his colorful expressions, stunning comparisons and clever allusions to certain facts still resonate in fans’ memory.”
What a shame that, departing so early, Amangeldy left no straight successors since his masterclasses would have been of great assistance for many young commentators. Yet the treasury of his TV performances remains the core of his legacy, a marvelous guide to be studied by new generations of the Kazakh-speaking sports journalists.
Yevgeny Gaidamakin (1982-2021), an Empathic Poet
To find meaning of my own death,
That’s beyond my power.
Where are they, the nations
Who call death a festival?
Yevgeny had delivered these lines as a 21-year-old lad. Today, 18 years later, there is still no sense to be found in his own death. It hurts so badly when people die without even reaching 40, a reminder to all of us that we are no more than guests in this world.
Gaidamakin began his career as a radio personality before moving to Karavan newspaper and Nash Sport (Our Sport) website. Later, he joined ProSport, a newspaper that saw him work successfully as a reporter and observer. Those jobs were followed by claiming positions of chief editor and general director – yes, Zhenya had such experience, too.
Hundreds of reviews and articles, dozens of photo illustrations… He had been a true aficionado of sports journalism, one of those hardcore faithful popularized by an old Soviet song for having no hesitation over “walking three days in a row, spending three nights without sleep, for the sake of a few lines in newspaper.”
Since 2018, Yevgeny has been busy developing his YouTube channel Sports True in which he led deeply interested discussions about harsh problems of Kazakhstan’s sport, its victorious moments and bitter losses. He hosted conversations with well-known sportsmen, experts, journalists who were keen to tell the truth, addressing a variety of issues, including the most uncomfortable ones. As is well known, to get a cure against a disease, you should diagnose it properly.
Igor Fedorenko, journalist, editor:
“Few people knew that Yevgeny had musical education. His creative nature was always noticeable. In addition, he has ability to win the favor of his interlocutor to make him honest. He was good at finding some exclusive things. He threw himself into sports journalism with earnestness for sports were literally in his blood. He thrived both as a newspaper reporter and a web journalist, and, arguably, as a TV show host. His YouTube channel earned well-deserved popularity.”
Yes, popularity of Sports True has been growing consistently and some of its issues won attention of hundreds of thousands users, offering answers to questions consonant with hopes and dreams of the true sports fans.
Yevgeny’s terribly untimely demise felt like a death at the start of a high flight. So much stuff was lost, unwritten, unrecorded, unspoken…
Do you know the title of Gaidamakin’s poem quoted above? It could be translated as Something Bright or Bright Being. Well, such a bright, good-hearted human being, all smiles, he was, and that’s how he will be remembered by his pen and mike brotherhood he belonged to. Furthermore, he was very empathic individual, sensitive to both injustice and joy. And that is what one calls a poet.
Sad post scriptum
When this article was about to be issued, another disheartening news came out. Sports journalist Maksim Kartashov, widely known as a long-standing publisher and editor of Kazakhstan Hockey magazine, has suddenly passed away. He was only 49. All this is so difficult to believe…
