As we explain in our Tokyo 2020 Qualification Guide, the new system was partly designed to make it harder for anti-doping measures to be circumvented and to punish nations with bad anti-doping records. Kazakhstan, along with Azerbaijan, Russia and Belarus, was limited to a maximum of just a single male and single female athlete for the Tokyo game. A further thirteen nations are limited to a maximum of two male and two female athletes.
A statement quoted by InsideTheGame included: “The IWF has acknowledged the progress made in recent years by the WFRK, as part of very significant work throughout the entire sport to tackle doping”. It is certainly true that recent performances of Kazakhstan athletes have been significantly reduced from the levels they achieved in previous years, perhaps indicating that they are training in a tougher anti-doping environment.