The 17th Summer Asian Games have concluded in South Korea’s Incheon. The Uzbekistan national team performed in the competitions across 31 sports and earned, in individual contests, 44 medals, including 9 gold, 14 silver and 21 bronze medals.

On our way to the high accomplishments we have set out to reach we will definitely achieve the goals by consistently implementing our programs that have received acknowledgement in the world, by furthering high growth rates, by building up the strength and might of our beautiful country and transforming its inimitable appearance every day, and, crucially, relying on you, my dear children, who are increasingly becoming a decisive force, willing to hold a dialogue on equal terms and compete with peers from advanced nation in various spheres. There is no doubt in this.

Islam Karimov

The 17th Summer Asian Games have concluded in South Korea’s Incheon. The Uzbekistan national team performed in the competitions across 31 sports and earned, in individual contests, 44 medals, including 9 gold, 14 silver and 21 bronze medals. With taking team competitions into account, Uzbekistan’s athletes won as many as 61 medals in total (12 gold, 14 silver, and 35 bronze medals).

More than 13 thousand sportspeople from 45 countries competed in 36 sports for 437 sets of medals in the Asiad 2014. They included numerous victors and prize winners of Olympics, world and continental championships, which ensured a high disposition and intense competition at the Asian Games.

At the continental contest, Uzbekistan was represented by 228 athletes who upheld the honor of the nation in sports like boxing, artistic gymnastics, kayak and canoe, judo, weightlifting and track and field athletics, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, swimming, cycling and other types. Their bright performance and high results widely demonstrated once again that the development of sports in Uzbekistan is attached a significance at the level of government policy, thanks to which our athletes have been glorifying their Motherland for the entire world. What is crucial is that they have proved again that they are willing to yield to no one in anything.

That has become possible only after Uzbekistan attained independence. Colossal efforts have been undertaken in the past period under the leadership of President Islam Karimov to cardinally renew the country and reform all walks of life, including sports. Myriads of modern sporting facilities have been erected and are still built that are outfitted with quality hardware and equipment. Highly qualified specialists are trained in the sphere. In general, sports and physical culture have become an integral and a rather important part of the completely revitalized system of education and upbringing of young generation.



The Physical Culture and Sports Act of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other normative acts dedicated to the creation of maximum favorable conditions and environment for the engagement of the population, especially youths, women and children, in physical culture and sports, have served as an important normative foundation for that.

The growth in the worldwide acknowledgement of Uzbekistan as a sports power was facilitated by the organization of the most prestigious sports competitions in the country at a high organizational level in the last years, including world and continental championships like the government Asian Championship among juniors, taekwondo and sambo Asian Championship, the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling World Championship.

Established under the initiative of the head of our state, the Fund for the Development of Children’s Sports has been making its own input into the promotion of sports in the country, which has become a genuinely nationwide movement, into fostering a comprehensively advanced generation. As Islam Karimov has put it, by establishing this fund, we set such noble ends before ourselves as shaping healthy lifestyle, safeguarding our youths from various negative impacts, turning the children’s sports into a mass, nationwide movement. After all, only a country that defines the nurturing a comprehensively advanced generation as its greatest and most sacred goal is capable of booking a worthwhile place in the international community.

For the past period of time, the Fund for the Development of Children’s Sports has implemented numerous projects designed to furthering these gracious ends. Owing to its effective activity, the youths are regular in sports even in the remotest of areas, for which modern conditions and environment are created throughout the entire nation.

The unique three-tier system of sports games – Umid Nihollari, Barkamol Avlod, and the Universiad – introduced in our country has been instrumental in the extensive engagement of youth in sports, in nurturing world-class athletes. Thanks to these sports competitions, millions of schoolchildren, students of lyceums and colleges and higher education institutions are demonstrating themselves in such types of sports as football and tennis, swimming and chess, kurash and boxing, gymnastics and track and field athletics, and many others. The majority of members of our national team across various sports, having passed through this very training school of these games, are now succeeding at major international competitions by raising the flag of their native land high.

The resolution of the head of our state on preparation of athletes of Uzbekistan for the 31st Olympics and the 15th Paralympics 2016 in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, inked 25 February 2013, became yet another brilliant manifestation of the huge attention paid in our country to the development of sports in general.

The document envisages tasks related to the effective training of our athletes for the Olympics, namely, the consolidation of economic and technical capacities of sports federations, organization of international in-depth training courses for coaches and referees as well as learning-training sessions for athletes, securing their proper participation in international competitions, construction and reconstruction and equipment of dozens of sports facilities of the country with cutting-edge hardware and accessories.

Uzbekistan’s sportspeople have taken part in the 17th Summer Asian Games that have allowed the specialists and coaches to try the abilities and thus evaluate the capacities of our athletes who will have to vie for Olympic tickets.

The greater part of the medals won in the Asiad was the share of those athletes who are into Olympic types of sports. The high potential of the Uzbek school of wrestling was demonstrated by the wrestlers of freestyle and Greco-Roman style Rustam Assakalov, Dilshodjon Turdiev, Bekzod Abdurahmonov, Rashid Kurbanov and others. They brought 3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals to the piggy bank of Uzbekistan national team.

“That was the first performance for me and the first gold medal at the Asian Games,” says the freestyle wrestler Bekzod Abdurahmonov. “The comprehensive support and the attention paid by the President of the country Islam Karimov to young sportspeople, the love of my family members and relatives have allowed me to rise to the highest podium of honor.”

“I had trained and prepared strenuously for the Asian Games,” the Greco-Roman style wrestler Rustam Assakalov has shared his impressions. “The victory did not come easily. By and large it was a result of the favorable condition created in our country, the support and encouragement for athletes by the head of our state. I love Uzbekistan and devote my triumph to it.”

The fact that WTF taekwondo fighters won 4 medals of varying value spoke of the proper organization of their training. Jasur Baikuziev became the first holder of the highest-rate medal. Brothers Nikita and Maksim Rafalovich as well as Dmitry Shokin became silver-medal winners of the Asiad 2014.

A particular significance is attached in our country to the development of sports among women. Today, dozens of our female athletes are renowned across the globe. That has been confirmed again by their triumphs at the Asian Games.

The high level of training and the enormous will for victory was displayed by our gymnasts Anastasia Serdyukova, Jamila Rahmatova, Valeria Davidova and Ravilia Farkhutdinova. Their exercises with hoop, ball, Indian club and ribbon triggered a universal admiration of spectators and specialists. Owing to the excellent preparation for the competitions, our girls overcame their rivals from South Korea, Chinese Taipei, China, Japan, Kazakhstan and other countries and earned yet another gold medal of the Uzbek national team.

“We are just happy to be the winners of the Asian Games, because to rise to the highest podium in such important sports contests is the dream of every athlete,” Valeria Davidova exclaimed. “We also had wished that and prepared with perseverance. Our dream has come true, and the flag of Uzbekistan has been raised high at the Asiad, under the sounds of our national anthem. And that is most important.”

The mastery and high professionalism was demonstrated by our young weightlifter Mahliyo Toghaeva.

“I am glad to have brought the first medal to the piggy bank of our national team by participating in such a major sports competition,” Toghaeva has said. “The rivalry was so fierce that even the prize winners of Olympics were left without medals. This victory has been achieved by me owing to the great attention to the development of sports in our country and the stimulation of young promising sportspeople.”

Our representatives in track and field athletics proved the brightest. The London Olympics finalist Svetlana Radzivil in high jumps showed the best result – 1 meter 94 centimeters – by overwhelming a counterpart from China. She became the winner of the gold medal of the Asian Games.

The holder of silver medal, the track and field athlete Leonid Andreev stunned the referees, coaches and fans. By demonstrating his remarkable skills and resolution, he came up with high results in jogging for 100 meters, long jumps, in putting the shot, and high jumps.

The track and field athletes Nadezhda Dusanova and Ivan Zaitsev brought another two bronze medals to the national team.

Uzbekistan’s stock of precious prizes was added also by the boxers. Shahobiddin Zoirov and Israil Madraimov became winners of silver medals. Bronze medals were earned by Oibek Mamazulunov and Mirzohidjon Abdullaev.

Also, rowers met the high confidence of compatriots by winning 5 medals of varying value. Our celebrated kayak paddler Aleksey Mochalov became a model for his peers in the team. In competitions for 1,000 meters, he left his major rivals from Iran, Kazakhstan and China far behind. His triumph was followed by the performance of the canoe world twice champion Vadim Menkov. In a 1,000 meter round, Menkov also overcame counterparts from Kazakhstan, China and South Korea, leaving them to struggle for silver and bronze.

The duo of canoeists Serik Mirbekov and Gerasim Kochnev became a bronze medal winner of the Asian Games. Our kayak paddlers also gladdened fans in their quartet race: Sergey Borzov, Vyacheslav Gorn, Aleksey Mochalov, Aleksandr Tropin earned bronze medals. Thus, they showed once again that kayak paddlers and canoeists of Uzbekistan are among the leaders in these sports in the continent.

“I still cannot believe my triumph and I am pretty excited,” Aleksey Mochalov has claimed. “Although back in Uzbekistan I had disposed myself only to victory by allocating much time to persistent training. I am glad to have brought my Motherland yet another gold medal.”

Victories of our athletes at the 17th Asian Games have demonstrated again the high attention paid to the development of sports in our country under the leadership of President Islam Karimov. Prior to gaining independence, participation of our youth in international sports competitions was impossible even to think of. Let alone the triumphant performance in such prominent contests.

The sports fans and our entire nation met our athletes victorious in various sports at the 17th Summer Asian Games with pride and bliss.