ISSF President Luciano Rossi has been honoured by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, receiving a prestigious accolade from the head of state.
President Tokayev welcomed President Rossi to Astana for a meeting, where shooting sport was discussed prior to the start of the Asian Shooting Championships in the city of Shymkent. During this time, the ISSF Grand Prix Moving Target 50m is also scheduled to take place.
The Kazakh city of Almaty will also host a leg of the ISSF World Cup Shotgun in May 2026.
The pair exchanged medals in appreciation to their respective contributions to the sport. President Rossi gratefully received the Order of Dostyq (Friendship) medal, while President Tokayev received an ISSF diploma in recognition of services to shooting sport.
Yesterday, President Rossi reunited with Asian Shooting Confederation President, H.E. Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah, ahead of his organisation’s hosting of the Asian Shooting Championships. Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah received the Order of Dostyq too, as well as the President Gold medal from Mr. Rossi. They continued to show signs of friendship and cooperation heading into a busy period of the calendar where Asia will be host to the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol in Ningbo, the ISSF Junior World Cup in New Delhi, and ISSF World Cup Final in Doha.
Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President of the Kazakhstan Sports Shooting Federation (KSSF), Berik Assylov, presenting him with the same recognition as well as the ISSF Medal of Honour, for his services to shooting sport.
During his visit to Kazakhstan, Mr. Rossi also met with the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan. There he met with the President of the NOC of Kazakhstan and boxing great, Gennadiy Golovkin.
Also in attendance were Asian Shooting Confederation President, H.E. Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah; NOC of Kazakhstan Secretary General, Alimzhan Akayev; Director General of the NOC of Kazakhstan, Nurlan Nogerbek; KSSF Secretary General, Oleg Pochivalov; and Nedhal Alaasem, Member of the Kuwait Shooting Federation.
During this meeting, the ISSF and ASC Presidents exchanged gifts with the NOC of Kazakhstan leadership and agreed to continue and improve their cooperation for the future of shooting sport.
The Order of Dostyq, given to President Luciano Rossi