Chairman of the Turkmenistan Tennis Federation (TTF) Eziz Dovletov was appointed vice-president of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), joining the board of directors of this continental organization. This significant event in the history of Turkmen sports took place at the ATF Congress held in Bangkok (Thailand), at which the elections of the president, members of the board and the appointment of the vice-president of the organization took place.
Founded in 1958, the Asian Tennis Federation is a non-profit organization affiliated with the International Tennis Federation (ITF). It is the continental body of the national tennis associations of Asian countries. The main objectives of the ATF are to develop and raise the quality standard of Asian tennis.
41 delegates out of 53 present voted for the candidacy of Eziz Dovletov to the board of directors of the Asian Tennis Federation.
Representative of Kazakhstan Yuri Polsky was elected with 34 votes as the new president of the ATF, for which three other candidates competed - from Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka. Prior to this, he served as vice-president of the Asian Tennis Federation for 4 years.
After the election of a board of directors consisting of 14 people, the newly elected president of the ATF, taking into account the organizational abilities and professional career experience of tennis player Eziz Dovletov, appointed him vice-president of this organization for a period until 2027.
The first meeting of the new ATF leadership team, which will coordinate the development of tennis in Asian countries, is scheduled for 23rd of January as part of the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments held in the Australian city of Melbourne on the courts of the local sports complex «Melbourne Park»
At the ATF Congress, the election of Eziz Dovletov to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) committee for hosting the Masters tournaments for 2024-2025 was also announced. This committee is the largest and is responsible for holding the most prestigious tournaments.
Eziz Dovletov is 33 years old. He is a master of sports, was the winner of the Davis Cup IV group of the Asia and Oceania zone, and a prize-winner of many international and national tournaments. From 2018 to 2021 he worked as general secretary, from 2021 to mid-2022 as vice-chairman, and in July 2022 he was elected for 4 years as head of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan.
A representative of Turkmenistan is elected to the Asian Tennis Federation for the first time, which unites national associations of 54 countries.
According to E. Dovletov, this event is a new success of domestic sports diplomacy, which became possible thanks to the progressive policy of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Hero-Arkadag in the field of sports, including the development of tennis and the education of the younger generation managers.
According to experts, the election of a representative of our country to the leadership of an authoritative Asian sports organization will give a powerful impetus to the development of tennis in Turkmenistan, will facilitate the exchange of sports experience with neighboring countries, will further develop sports diplomacy, and participate in making numerous decisions in this sport at the regional level. and continental levels and host more international tournaments, as was the case this year in Ashgabat.
Let us remind that the Central Asian team championship among tennis players under 12 years old, held in June in the Turkmen capital, was recognized as the standard for organizing tournaments in Asia at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Congress held in Cancun (Mexico) in September 2023.
