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Writer's pictureTimes Tengri

Uzbekistan and the Olympics

Uzbekistan as an independent state made its first appearance at the 1994 Winter Olympics and has participated in all Games since then. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Uzbek athletes were part of the United Team, and previously, since 1952, they had competed under the flag of the USSR.


The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan was established in 1992 and recognized by the IOC in 1993.


In total, Uzbekistan's athletes have won 37 Olympic medals (11 gold, 6 silver and 20 bronze) during their time as an independent team.


The National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that operates in accordance with the legislation of Uzbekistan, the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee and the Charter of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan.


The National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan performs a number of important functions in the development of physical culture and sport in the country. The main functions of the NOC can be divided into internal and external. Internal functions include: developing the Olympic movement in Uzbekistan on the basis of the principles set out in the Olympic Charter; promoting the physical and spiritual education of the population; participating in the development of mass physical culture and sport, national sports and sport among the disabled; assisting State and public physical culture and sport organizations in training the country's national teams and sports reserves; and raising the level of physical education and sport in Uzbekistan.


The external functions are no less diverse: to strengthen the position and prestige of Uzbekistan in the international arena; to represent the country's delegations at the Olympic, Asian, World Youth and Central Asian Games; to develop sports cooperation with the IOC, the OCA, national Olympic committees of other countries and international sports associations; to participate in the IOC's Olympic Solidarity programmes; and to assist national sports federations and organizations in strengthening their participation in the work of international sports associations and organizations


Performance of internal functions began to be carried out since the establishment of the NOC of Uzbekistan on January 21, 1992. Full implementation of international activities became possible with the full recognition of our National Olympic Committee by the International Olympic Committee at its 101st session in September 1993.


The key to the realization of the whole range of integration processes lay in the solution of the problem of establishing strong IOC ties. This problem was solved successfully thanks to the fruitful sports-diplomatic activity of I. A. Karimov. Our President was invited to Lausanne, where X. A. Samaranch presented him with the Golden Olympic Order. (Karimov's photo) X. A. Samaranch visited Uzbekistan three times: on the occasion of the successful performance of our athletes in Lillehammer, in connection with the 1st Central Asian Games and to participate in the opening of the Museum of Olympic Glory of Uzbekistan. He rendered substantial assistance to the development of the Olympic movement of Uzbekistan, which was recognized by awarding X. A. Samaranch was awarded the Order of Buyuk Hizmatlari Uchun. Relations with such a division of the IOC as Olympic Solidarity are developing successfully. The Director-General of that organization visited Tashkent in April 1999. Olympic Solidarity grants 32 scholarships to Uzbekistan's leading athletes and provides the Uzbek National Olympic Committee with funds for international seminars to improve the qualifications of Uzbekistan's coaches.


Such constructive relations with the International Olympic Committee create favorable conditions for our athletes in international sports competitions. They contribute to the comprehensive development of Olympism in Uzbekistan.


The NOC of Uzbekistan is a full member of another important International Olympic Center - the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), which now includes 202 organizations, including the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC).


The Olympic successes of our athletes have shown the world that Uzbekistan is not only a land of great scientists, politicians, writers and poets, but also a country of athletes who are not inferior in their abilities to other nations. Their successes are a national treasure of the state, they testify to humanity about the potential of the new country of the world.


The NOC of Uzbekistan has established strong relations with the Olympic Council of Asia. This has enabled athletes and sports organizations to expand their participation in the continent's sporting life and to compete successfully at the Asian Summer and Winter Games and Asian championships. In May 1997, OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah visited Tashkent. In recognition of Islam Abduganievich Karimov's merits in bringing up a healthy generation in Uzbekistan and his great contribution to the development of the Olympic movement in Asia, Ahmad Al Sabah presented the President of Uzbekistan with the highest award of the OCA - the Golden Order of the Olympic Council of Asia.


Uzbekistan's successes in the development of sport among young people and the achievements of our athletes at world sports forums are highly appreciated by the Association of National Olympic Committees. On July 7, 2001, the NOC of Uzbekistan received the news that the ANOC awarded the President of Uzbekistan I. A. Karimov for his great contribution to the development of sport and the Olympic Movement in Uzbekistan with the ANOC Honorary Award, consisting of gold and silver plates 43 cm long and 32 cm wide, as well as a gold ANOC patch with the emblem of 5 continents.


Since 1999, integration processes have been enriched with a new effective direction - the capital of Uzbekistan became the venue for meetings of various international sports organizations. At the suggestion of the Olympic Council of Asia, Tashkent hosted a meeting of the Secretaries General of the National Olympic Committees of Asia, which was attended by representatives of 42 countries, including OCA Secretary General Raja Singh, Olympic Solidarity Director Pierre Miró, and OCA Director General Mutaleb Ahmad.


Holding such a high-level meeting has significantly strengthened Uzbekistan's authority in the international sports community and raised the prestige of the country. This was manifested, in particular, in the interest of a number of countries in signing commonwealth agreements with the NOC of Uzbekistan. Agreements have been signed with the NOCs of Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, and agreements have been prolonged with the Republic of China and Mongolia.


The meeting adopted the “Tashkent Declaration” of unanimous support for the activities of IOC President Marquis Juan Antonio Samaranch, which became an important factor in strengthening friendship and mutual understanding in the Olympic movement of the continent.


On the eve of the Sydney Olympics, a meeting of the OCA Executive Committee was held in Tashkent. During the meeting, Olympic Council of Asia President Ahmad Al Sabah emphasized that Uzbekistan is one of the sports leaders in Asia. At the meeting of the Executive Committee, the issue of establishing the Central Asian zone of the OCA with headquarters in Tashkent was finally decided. Today this organization has been established and is successfully functioning, headed by Uzbekistani G. Rakhimov.


Gradually, Tashkent is becoming one of the important sports centers of the world, where major international competitions and meetings are held more often. An indicator of the increasing authority of our sport in the international sports movement has been the holding in Tashkent of the World Kurash Championship, the Asian wrestling and boxing championships, the First Central Asian Games, and the Uzbekistan President's Cup in tennis, wrestling and Kurash. The international sports federations in kurash, boxing and wrestling held their meetings in the capital of Uzbekistan. During the Asian Wrestling Championship in Tashkent, Michel Duesson, Secretary General of the International Amateur Wrestling Federation, presented the highest award of the Federation - “Golden Necklace” - to President Karimov. This award was presented to Mr. Karimov “for great merits in the development of sport in Uzbekistan and world sport”. It should be noted that Karimov was the first among the world's heads of state to be honored with this award.


The most outstanding success should be considered the entry of the Uzbek national wrestling kurash into the international arena. For the first time, our national sport has acquired international status. The effect of this process on the propaganda of our country and people is similar to the launch of a satellite. Of course, it would have been impossible to accomplish this important endeavor of the “Physical Culture and Sports” sector on our own. The problem was solved thanks to the support of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan I. A. Karimov, who was in favor of the launch of the satellite. A. Karimov, who was elected Honorary President of the International Kura-Sha Association, and K. Yusupov was elected President of this Association. For the first time a citizen of our country headed an international sports association.


Integration in international sports has such an important aspect as inclusion of Uzbekistan's representatives in international sports associations. A number of Uzbekistan's leading specialists are now successfully working as members of various international federations and associations in various sports: G. Rakhimov is the chairman of the budget commission of the International Boxing Association, V. Ligai is the president of the Asia-Pacific Taekwondo Federation, K. Yusupov is the president of the International Kurash Association, A. Ruziev and F. Karimov are members of the International Wrestling Federation, L. Ayrapetyants has been elected a member of the Asian Volleyball Confederation, and R. Akramov is working in the Asian Football Confederation. A significant step in the expansion of our representation in international sports centers took place in 1999. In November this year, Kuwait hosted the XVIII General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia, which brings together the NOCs of 44 countries. At this representative forum of the Olympic movement in our region, an outstanding victory of Uzbek sports diplomacy was achieved. Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia, who delivered a report, highly appreciated the performance of sports delegations of independent states of Central Asia in various continental championships, summer and winter Asian Games and world sports forums. He noted that these successes raise the profile of Asian sports around the world. He particularly emphasized the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan I. A. Karimov to hold the Central Asian Games. Therefore, the participants of the General Assembly unanimously voted in favor of the creation of the fifth Asian zone, which included all five Central Asian states. (Prior to this decision, all countries of the continent were divided into 4 zones).


The Assembly decided to increase our representation in various commissions of the OCA. The members of the Olympic Council of Asia today are: Sabir Ruziev, Gafur Rakhimov, Timur Nizayev and Malik Babayev. During the meeting of NOC leaders of Central Asian countries Gafur Rakhimov was unanimously elected as the President of the Fifth Regional Zone, which automatically makes him the Vice-President of the OCA. Timur Nizayev is a member of the Press Relations Commission, Malik Babayev is a member of the Legal Commission, S. Ruziev is a member of the OCA Finance Committee, and S. Ruziev is a member of the OCA Committee.


Thus, one of the key tasks of Uzbek sport and the Olympic Movement of Uzbekistan - their integration into international sport, establishment of strong business contacts with international sports associations, establishment of our country as an organizer of international sports meetings and gatherings of continental and world scale - has been solved in the shortest historical period.


On the fourth day of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris on July 31 this year, Uzbekistan's athletes will take part in rowing, boxing, judo and archery competitions, the National Olympic Committee said.


Rowers Shakhzod Nurmatov and Sobir Safaraliyev, who finished fourth in the rowing pairs event but needed to finish in the top three to advance to the semifinals, will be the first to compete that day. They lost their medal chances, but will advance to the consolation heat on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.


The judokas will compete at 1 p.m. Davlat Bobonov, the bronze medalist of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the 90 kg weight category, will fight in the 1/16 finals against the 2019 world champion, Russian judoka Aram Grigoryan, who now represents the UAE.


At the same time, 29-year-old Gulnoza Matniyazova (up to 70 kg), Asian champion, medalist of the World Championships in mixed team, medalist of the Asian Summer Games and World Military Games, will compete. Her opponent in the 1/16 finals will be Moon Song Hee from the DPRK.


At 14:00, 24-year-old Abdumalik Khalokov in the weight category up to 57 kg, who became world champion in 2023, champion of the Asian Games, Asian Championships and Youth Olympic Games in 2018, will enter the fight. His opponent in the 1/8 finals will be 23-year-old Nebil Ibrahim from Sweden, who defeated a boxer from Palestine in the previous round.


20-year-old archer Amirkhan Sadikov scored 674 points in 72 attempts in the previous stage, finishing 13th. He will meet Mario Damian Jaharabilla of Argentina at 4:15 p.m. in the 1/32 final, who finished 52nd with 643 points in the qualifying round.


Archer Ziyodakhon Abdusattorova was ranked 34th among 64 athletes with 649 points in the ranking round. This is the best score of her career.


At 18:00 in the 1/32 finals, she will compete against Marie Horackova of the Czech Republic, who finished 31st in qualifying with 651 points.


Last to compete on the day will be Asian bronze medalist and world champion, 23-year-old boxer Asadhuja Muydinkhodjaev. At 19:15 in 1/8 finals he will fight 24-year-old Omar Elawadi, the winner of the African qualifying tournament.

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