Ashgabat prepares for world championships in sambo and track cycling

At present, our country is preparing for the World Sambo Championship 2020 and the World Track Cycling Championship 2021. The preparation for these large-scale competitions is being carried out in accordance with the documents signed by the Head of State on 18 June.

Thus, according to the Resolution of the President of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Policy is to hold the World Sambo Championship in the city of Ashgabat in the sports complex of martial arts of the Olympic city in November 2020, together with the International Sambo Federation.

In accordance with the document, the Organizing Committee was established and its composition was approved. In addition, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Policy was prescribed, after coordinating with the International Sambo Federation, to develop and approve the Regulation on holding the World Sambo Championship.

Also, in order to ensure a high organizational level of the World Track Cycling Championship in Ashgabat in 2021, the President of Turkmenistan signed a Decree, according to which the organizing committee for the Championship was established and its composition was approved.

The development of the sphere of physical culture and sports is one of the priority vectors of state policy. As a result of the undertaken complex measures, a healthy lifestyle has become a national idea, a powerful consolidating factor uniting people and promoting the country's progressive progress.

Large-scale competitions organized in our country are of great importance in terms of raising its prestige on the world sports arena. The authority of the state and its place in the system of international relations determines a number of factors. Turkmenistan, which has established the principles of peacemaking and neutrality in its foreign policy course, considers humanitarian cooperation, including in the field of sports, to be one of the effective diplomatic tools.

Our country shows impressive achievements in the field of sports. Thus, the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Ashgabat in 2017 were crowned with triumph, where the national team won 89 gold, 70 silver and 86 bronze medals - a total of 245 medals.

It should be noted that the Declaration of the International Sports Congress “Asian Games 2017: international sports cooperation for the sake of peace and progress” was adopted as a document of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly. And at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, at the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Declaration on Encouraging the Valuable Contribution of Olympic Teams of Refugees to Strengthening Peace and Human Rights was adopted.

These historical events testify the recognition of the growing international prestige of neutral Turkmenistan and its successful steps in the world sports arena. According to the general opinion of journalists, athletes, heads of delegations, numerous guests of honor, Ashgabat is worthy of holding not only the Asian Games, but also the Olympic Games. To do this, there are all the conditions, including a super-modern sports infrastructure.

Hosting events of such a high level and scale is a tremendous responsibility, and the Turkmen capital has successfully managed it, brilliantly fulfilling the mission of the peacemaker city, the center of the dialogue of cultures and peoples.

In September 2018, a large rally Amul-Khazar 2018 took place in the country, including a cross-country race, a bike ride and an international motor rally. It is symbolic that the route of the auto marathon ran along the newly revived legendary ancient highway in its new quality - the Great Silk Road.

Hosting a rally-raid demonstrates the worthy role of our state in the development of world motor racing. Despite the fact that a little time has passed since the moment of the new development of this sport in our country, large-scale work has been done in this direction.

In November 2018, the Turkmen capital again hosted the World Weightlifting Championships. It should be noted that it was preceded by serious organizational work and comprehensive training. In the capital's Olympic town there were created the necessary conditions for athletes and all those who were involved in these prestigious competitions, guests and fans.

About 500 volunteers from higher educational institutions of Turkmenistan were trained. Measures were taken to give a decent coverage of the championship, and its official website was launched in Turkmen, English and Russian. In addition, information about the tournament was distributed on the television channel “EURONEWS” and other television channels from 145 countries.

The successfully held World Weightlifting Championships in Ashgabat is special, because it became the first event after the reformation of the weight categories of the International Weightlifting Federation and the first step towards winning the right to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The opening ceremony of the championship was held in the Complex of team sports, which is part of the infrastructure of the capital's Olympic city.

And now this largest sports facility in the region of Central Asia is used to hold major sporting events, as well as to train athletes and anyone who wants to improve their health. It should be noted that currently the national team of Turkmenistan is training here, which will take part in the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

 

We shall recall that a unique sports complex includes about 40 objects and has a high-tech infrastructure with comfortable conditions. At the same time, it is distinguished by its expressive aesthetic appearance, an outstanding element of which is the artistic and monumental depiction of the Akhal-Teke horse, which ascends above the main arena and was entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

 

Another certificate of the Guinness Book of Records was awarded to the Water Sports Center, as the world's largest indoor swimming pool, built on the basis of modern technologies from environmentally friendly materials that meet the requirements of international standards.

 

Thanks to the leadership of the head of state, new powerful incentives took place for development of cycling in our country. The President of Turkmenistan has laid down such wonderful traditions as regular bike rides, Days without vehicles, urging the public to realize the responsibility for the preservation of the environment, and each of us to improve the ecological culture.

 

In this direction, Turkmenistan is building up and strengthening cooperation with the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia, the United Nations International Bureau for Sport for Peace and Sustainable Development, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Education and Sports, the World Health Organization, and other authoritative associations.

 

Cycling in Turkmenistan has its own history: the first society of cyclists was established in Ashgabat in 1894, and a year later competitions were held. This was the beginning of the cultivation of this sport in our country. Today, its traditions with more than a century of history have updated the content.

 

Highways running along the Kopetdag Mountains have been hosting numerous national cycling competitions for many decades and serve as a venue for international training camps for leading athletes. This is facilitated not only by the amazing climate of Turkmenistan, which allows cycling in the open air almost all year round, but also by the impeccable quality of the country's roads.

 

It is necessary to emphasize the importance of the Resolution adopted at the initiative of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at the 82nd meeting of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on 12 April 2018 on the establishment of 3 June as the World Bicycle Day. The document, co-sponsored by 56 states, is a clear confirmation of the universal recognition of the contribution of Turkmenistan to the strengthening of peace, friendship and effective cooperation.

 

Today, 190 national federations, continental cycling confederations, as well as many fans in all parts of the world have joined the celebration of the World Bicycle Day. They are united by the idea of the Turkmen leader to develop a bicycle culture so that citizens of any age can take part in this movement with health benefits.

 

By the way, a new page in the history of domestic cycling began in Ashgabat with the opening of a cycle track on the basis of the Olympic campus, since a construction of this type was built in Turkmenistan for the first time. The quality of the object was already appreciated not only by the participants of the national competitions, but also by the experts of the International Cycling Union (UCI), who decided to award President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with a Certificate of Appreciation and delegation of the right to hold the World Track Cycling Championship in 2021.

 

The modern multifunctional sports infrastructure that is being formed in our country, meets all world standards in all respects, serves as a good basis for opening a special Olympic reserve school in Turkmenistan where they will train international-class cyclists.

 

Sport in the understanding of the head of state is not just records and medals, it is a powerful social, unifying force, and it is intertwined with culture, economics, and diplomacy. And the upcoming major competitions - the World Sambo Championship and the World Track. Cycling Championship, undoubtedly, will strengthen the place of Turkmenistan among sports nations; will give a powerful impetus to the development of top achievements in our country.