A few days remain until the start of the 14th World Kurash Wrestling Championship in Ashgabat, which, we can already say, will go down in history as one of the major sporting events of the year.
Even before it began, this world championship set a kind of record for the number of declared participants. According to new data provided today by the Kurash Federation of Turkmenistan, more than 490 people are expected to attend the World Championships in Ashgabat, including athletes (243), coaches, judges and other officials from 53 countries. By the way, last year's World Championships in the Indian city of Pune attracted 126 fewer people.
This is new clear evidence of the transformation of Ashgabat into a recognized international sports center, broad support from the International Kurash Association (IKA) implemented under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, as well as the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Hero-Arkadag for a targeted strategy for the development of physical culture and sports, which is one of the priority areas of state policy of Turkmenistan.
In the Era of the Revival of the New Epoch of the Powerful State, our neutral Fatherland is demonstrating impressive achievements in the sports field. Thus, the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Ashgabat in 2017 were crowned with an undeniable triumph, resulting in a grand celebration. And in 2018, the International Rally «Amul-Hazar 2018» and the World Weightlifting Championships were held with great success.
A landmark event in the history of national sports was the winning of the first Olympic silver medal at the women's weightlifting tournament in the program of the XXXII Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.
It is also noteworthy that in June of this year, the Turkmen capital for the second time became the venue for the Central Asian team tennis championship among boys and girls under 12 years old, in which young athletes from six countries - Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan - competed for the title of the strongest. and Turkmenistan.
And now Ashgabat is ready to host another major world-scale tournament. In order to hold the World Kurash Championship at a high level, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a Resolution on the 12th of July, creating the Organizing Committee and approving its composition.
Another significant event on the eve of the opening of the 2023 World Kurash Championship was the unanimous election of Turkmenistan as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Culture and Sports for 2023–2027. All this testifies to the high international authority of the Fatherland, as well as recognition of its significant contribution to the development of physical education and sports, and the widespread popularization of the principles of a healthy lifestyle in the world.
The World Championship, at which 15 sets of medals will be competed in seven men's and eight women's weight categories, will be held at the martial arts sports complex of the Olympic village. On the eve of its opening, which will take place on the 25th of November, the composition of the Turkmenistan national team became known. He was determined based on the results of qualifying competitions in which the best masters of kurash took part.
The men's national team of Turkmenistan included: Vepa Ovlyakulyyev (weight category up to 60 kg), Dovlet Hamrakulyyev (up to 66 kg), Shatlyk Jumaniyazov (up to 73 kg), Dayanch Omirov (up to 81 kg), Sanjar Abdyrahmanov (up to 90 kg), Ruslan Esgerov (up to 100 kg) and Sapa Sapayev (over 100 kg). And in the women's category - Aishirin Khaidarova (up to 48 kg), Aynur Amanova (up to 52 kg), Gulshat Annayeva (up to 57 kg), Dinara Rozykulova (up to 63 kg), Maria Lohova (up to 70 kg), Sabina Kadyrova (up to 78 kg), Jahan Muhammedova (up to 87 kg) and Sabina Agajanova (over 87 kg).
The final training camp for the World Championship - from 20th of October to 21st of November - was held by Turkmen kurash masters in the multifunctional sports complex in the city of Arkadag, where all the necessary conditions were created for fruitful preparation for the upcoming competitions. Thanks to the assistance of the administration of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports, psychologists and massage therapists-rehabilitators worked with the national team for the entire month. And the private company «Ussat inžener» took care of the high-calorie nutrition of the athletes, providing a chef who prepared a varied and vitamin-rich menu every day.
The task for our athletes at the World Championships in Ashgabat is to raise the authority and prestige of domestic sports as high as possible, for which a lot is being done in the country, including under the personal patronage of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero-Arkadag.
Last year at the World Championships in India, our compatriots won one silver and two bronze.
This time, the Turkmen kurash masters must perform much more successfully, the Turkmenistan team believes.
According to the coaches of our team, the great attention of the President of Turkmenistan and the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Hero-Arkadag to the development of elite sports gives additional strength to the sportsmen and confidence in victory.
