A big event awaits tennis fans in Turkmenistan in the coming days. Young athletes under 12 from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and our country will participate in the Central Asian Team Championship, which will be held in the tennis complex of the Ashgabat Olympic Village from June 5th to 9th.
Eziz Dovletov, the Chairman of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan, Master of Sport, said at the briefing for media representatives, that the goal of this tournament was to attract even more children and youth to tennis, to develop the sports movement.
The Head of the National Tennis Federation continued, the International Federation (ITF) canceled many competitions during the pandemic. Therefore, the regional tournament, held in Ashgabat in the post pandemic period, is considered a great event. Moreover, it is organized among children under 12 years old, for whom there are not many international competitions. This tournament has the status of a team championship, in which many singles and doubles matches will be played. In addition, this will contribute to the growth of the skills of young tennis players.
After 4 years, Turkmenistan will host this tournament, held under the auspices of the International and Asian Tennis Federations for the second time. And it is not by accident at all.
Turkmenistan has modern both outdoor and indoor tennis courts with stands from 200 to 4000 seats and excellent sports infrastructure in the Olympic Village. All these criteria were taken into account by the International Tennis Federation when choosing the host country of the tournament and played big role in determining the venue for the Central Asian Championship in Ashgabat.
During the tournament, the capital of Turkmenistan will be visited by Amir Borgei, the responsible curator of the Asian region in the International Tennis Federation (ITF); Manpreet Kandhari, the Executive Director of the Asian Tennis Federation, and a number of well-known specialists, including Iroda Tulyaganova, the ex-sixteenth racket of the world, winner of numerous tournaments such as junior Grand Slam in Wimbledon and the US Open, and now the Secretary General of the Tennis Federation of Uzbekistan; Nurdin Medetov, Chairman of the Tennis Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic; Abdurasul Mukhidinov, the Secretary General of the Tennis Federation of Tajikistan. Seftedjani Mohammadhassan Lachinani (Iran) was approved as the Chief Referee of the Central Asian Championship (under 12).
Piotr Unierzyski (Poland), expert of the International Tennis Federation, will be the honoured guest of the tournament. He will hold the second stage of the Level 1 coaching course in Ashgabat from June 10th to 23rd. At the end of it, the coaches, completing the course successfully, will receive certificates giving the right to work in any country in the world.
The Chairman of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan said about the chances of our team at the upcoming Central Asian Championship:
“We have the most serious forecasts. The girls’ team at the tournament will be led by Mirali Hasanov, the head coach of the national team, and the boys’ team will be led by Yuri Rogussky, the first racket of Turkmenistan. The national team was preparing hard for the tournament. The final stage of preparation took place from May 7th to 28th in Tashkent, during which the team alternated training sessions with friendly matches. Four years ago, our boys’ and girls’ teams took third place at the same tournament in Ashgabat. We expect that the tennis players of Turkmenistan will perform no worse at the upcoming Asian Championship (under 12) and will take places on the podium.”
