Today, on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, a ceremony was held in the Turkmen capital to honor the athletes of our country who successfully performed and won prizes in prestigious international competitions held in the first quarter of this year under the motto “Happy youth with Arkadag Serdar”.

The solemn event, held in the sports complex of martial arts of the Ashgabat Olympic Village and symbolically coinciding with the celebration of the World Health Day, was attended by the leadership of the Mejlis, members of the Government, heads of military and law enforcement agencies, ministries and departments of the country, heads and employees of the diplomatic corps accredited in Turkmenistan of foreign states and international organizations, as well as representatives of public associations, universities and the media.

The participants listened with great attention to the welcoming address of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who addressed his congratulations to the members of the national teams of Turkmenistan - winners of international tournaments.

In a solemn atmosphere, to the thunderous applause of numerous participants in the ceremony, distinguished athletes who won prizes in international competitions in 2023 are presented with valuable gifts on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

A well-deserved standing ovation was given to weightlifters who worthily represented our country at the World Junior Weightlifting Championships, held in the city of Durres (Republic of Albania) from March 25 to April 1.

Next, young Turkmen swimmers, who won medals of various denominations at the Asian Open Swimming Championship held in Bangkok (Thailand) in early March, are invited to the stage.

Members of the national team of Turkmenistan also successfully performed at the first Central Asian Taekwondo Championship, which was held from 16 to 19 March in Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan).

Congratulations were also addressed to our compatriots who climbed the podium at the European Junior Cup in judo, held in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on March 18–19.

Further, sportsmen who won the international tournament "Cup for the Founders of Sambo", held at the end of March in the city of Moscow (Russian Federation), were awarded.

The national youth team of Turkmenistan in rhythmic gymnastics performed worthily in the international tournament held in the city of Tbilisi (Republic of Georgia) from March 23 to 26.

Success in the championship of Asia and Oceania on hockey among juniors under 18, held in the second decade of March in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian People's Republic), was achieved by the hockey players of the youth team of Turkmenistan.

Then tennis players are invited to the stage - winners of the regional qualifying tournament of Western and Central Asia among athletes under 14, organized from January 9 to 20 in the city of Isa Town (Kingdom of Bahrain), and the international junior tennis tournament, held on February 13-18 in the city Colombo (Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka).

Turkmenistan was also represented at the international karate-do competition "Karate 1 - Youth League", held in Fujairah (UAE) from February 23 to 26.

These young, promising athletes have become the main heroes of the celebration today. Once again thanking for the high appreciation of their successes and achievements, the winners of international competitions expressed their sincere gratitude to the head of state and the Hero-¬Arkadag for their constant concern for the popularization of sports and a healthy lifestyle, creating conditions for practicing various sports in the country.

They assured that they would continue to make their contribution to the further enhancement of the sports authority of Turkmenistan, the green banner of which proudly flies at the largest competitions in the world.

In honor of today's significant event, a concert of masters of arts was organized, as well as demonstration performances of athletes in such disciplines as judo, karate-do, sambo, taekwondo, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, Turkmen national wrestling goresh.