The closing ceremony of the Central Asian Team Tennis Championship among boys and girls under 12 years old was held in the Turkmen capital today.

Young athletes from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan fought for five days in the Tennis Complex of the Olympic Village, not only for medals, but also for two passes to the final stage of the Asian Championship.

The fate of the awards and finalists was decided on the final day of the tournament. In the girls' competition, the first place was taken by the national team of Kazakhstan, which defeated the team of Uzbekistan with a score of 3:0. Therefore, the Uzbek team received silver medals. The bronze medals were awarded to the tennis players of Turkmenistan, who prevailed with the same score over their rivals from Tajikistan. At the same time, our compatriots won very confidently, without giving their rivals a single game in two singles and one doubles matches. Aylar Kakabaeva, Anna Ponyatova and Nesli Hudaygulyeva won bronze medals for Turkmenistan.

The intrigue in the boys' tournament was kept till the last. It was created by the Turkmen tennis players who had defeated the Uzbekistan team 3:0 the day before and made a considerable step to win the silver medals and qualify for the final round of the Asian Championship. To realize this dream, it remained only to defeat the Tajik national team with the obligatory defeat of the Uzbek team from the tennis players of Kazakhstan.

As expected, the team of Kazakhstan beat the Uzbek team 3-0 in the parallel match and won gold medals. And then it became clear that the fate of second place was in the hands of our team.

The trainees of Yuri Rogussky, coach of the Turkmen youth team, were determined to play the game. In the first singles Ali Geldyev beat Akhmad Vositov 6-2, 6-1. In the second singles, Suleyman Hudayberdyev, first number of our team, also confidently defeated Alijon Mirzoev 6:0, 6:2. Ali Geldyev and Nazargeldy Amangeldyev completed the defeat of the opponent, winning in doubles against Alijon Mirzoev and Akhmad Vositov – 6:1,6:1.

Thus, the Turkmen tennis players won silver medals for the first time and received a pass to the final stage of the Asian Championship!

Third place went to the team from Uzbekistan.

The current achievements of our athletes are the result of the huge attention paid in Turkmenistan to the development of sports. Having initiated a number of large-scale sports projects of both national and international significance, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Hero-Arkadag have made sports a national idea, thanks to which our country is increasingly becoming a venue for major competitions.

Hosting events of such a level and scale is a big responsibility, but Turkmenistan, once again acting as the host country of international sports competitions, has successfully coped with it!

The heads of delegations agreed that Ashgabat is worthy of hosting not only the Central Asian qualifying championships but also major ATF tournaments. There are all conditions for this, including the ultra-modern sports infrastructure of the Olympic Village, the construction of which was personally patronized by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The organizers of the tournament also took care of the cultural program, which helped the participants to learn more about the Turkmen history and the rich heritage of the people, its ancient original traditions, taste national cuisine, admire the sights of white marble city of Ashgabat.

This year's international competition of young tennis players was an outstanding success. And the representatives of the International (ITF) and Asian (ATF) tennis federations spoke about it at the closing ceremony, congratulating everyone on a great sports holiday.

"The Central Asian Championship was held according to world standards," said Iroda Tulyaganova, Vice–President of the Asian Tennis Federation, at the closing ceremony. – A lot of effort was invested in the tournament. First of all, I want to thank the President of Turkmenistan and the National Leader of the Turkmen people for their great attention to the development of sports. I also want to thank the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, the National Olympic Committee and, of course, the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan."

"You have very good prospects in tennis. You are entering the world arena. And this has already happened today, when the Turkmenistan boys' team won second place for the first time and made it to the Asian Championship," I.Tulyaganova said, noting that she sincerely loved our country.

Then medals and certificates were awarded to the winners and prize–winners of the Central Asian Championship from the International Tennis Federation, and valuable gifts were presented on behalf of the President of Turkmenistan, as well as from the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

So, the Central Asian Tennis Championship has ended, becoming a wonderful holiday that gave everyone a lot of unforgettable impressions and joy. And also – the championship has increased the pride of all Turkmen citizens for their homeland. Our country once again confirmed that it can host and successfully conduct major international competitions under the leadership of the President of Turkmenistan, as well as the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Hero-Arkadag.