From August 8-10, a delegation of the International Kurash Association (IKA) will visit Turkmenistan to familiarize itself with the preparations for the 14th World Championship in this belt wrestling, which will be held on November 23-28, 2023 in Ashgabat.

The International Kurash Association was established on September 6, 1998. To date, this sports organization unites 118 national federations from Asia (32), Africa (22), Europe (33), North and South America (22) and Oceania (9).

The State Sports Committee of Turkmenistan informed the correspondent of "GA" that the IKA delegation will be headed by Mohammad Reza Nassiri Nejat (Iran), the Secretary General and Technical Director of the International Kurash Association. Together with him, Ravi Kapoor (India), Chairman Refereeing Committee IKA and Mansur Mirzayev (Uzbekistan), head of the Administration of the International Kurash Association, will visit Ashgabat.

During their stay in the Turkmen capital, the guests will meet with representatives of the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, the National Olympic Committee and the Kurash Federation of Turkmenistan, as well as visit the Olympic Village, where the World Championship will be held in the martial arts sports complex, and get acquainted with the conditions of its holding.

It is not the first time Turkmenistan will host representative international competitions. In 2017, the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were held in the Olympic Village of the capital with great success, and in 2018 – the World Weightlifting Championship and the "Amul-Khazar 2018" International Rally. 

In June this year, the Turkmen capital for the second time became the venue for the Central Asian Team tennis championship (U-12), in which the title of the strongest was contested by young athletes from six countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

And now Ashgabat is preparing to host another major tournament on a world scale. In order to hold the World Kurash Championship at a high level, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a decree on July 12, creating the Organizing Committee and approving its composition.

Last year the World Kurash Championship was held in Pune, India, where representatives of 60 countries contested for awards. Turkmenistan was represented by 13 wrestlers (7 men and 6 women), and three of them returned home with medals. 

Aishirin Haidarova, the coach-teacher of the 2nd sports school of the Main Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Lebap velayat, won silver in the team of Turkmenistan in the weight category up to 48 kg, and the bronze medals went to Ainur Amanova (up to 52 kg), the coach-teacher of the 7th sports school of the Lebap velayat, and Aziza Kurbanova (up to 78 kg), a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports.