An Ethnosport Association has been established in Uzbekistan
An international conference on the topic "Prospects for the development of ethnosport in Uzbekistan" was held in Tashkent. The event, organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, was opened by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Minister of Tourism and Sports Aziz Abdukhakimov, Chairman of the World Ethnosport Confederation Necmeddin Bilol Erdogan.
"Paying special attention to the development and popularization of national sports in Uzbekistan, the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, as well as the development of physical culture and sports among the population of Uzbekistan are among the important directions put forward by the leadership of our state. The international conference was organized for this purpose and under the motto "Discover Uzbekistan through ethnosport and national values!". From time immemorial, national games have been important in the formation of states, the unification of tribes and peoples, as well as in the protection of people. To date, increasing attention to folk games, their popularization among young people, will make a great contribution to the health of the population in order to make a person physically healthy, hardy, patient, responsive and spiritually mature. The fact that the history of the nation has been formed over thousands of years is reflected in its material and cultural wealth, ethnography. Therefore, taking this opportunity, I want to announce the opening of the Ethnosport Association of Uzbekistan," Aziz Abdukhakimov said.
The Chairman of the World Confederation of Ethnosports, Mr. Necmeddin Bilal Erdogan, spoke about the national games and their significance. In addition, the guest of honor noted that he was visiting our country for the fifth time and was impressed by its history and values, and highly appreciated the recent reforms in Uzbekistan that are being implemented under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the attention paid to the development of the sports sphere.
During the event, Oybek Norinbayev was presented as the head of the Association of Ethnosports of Uzbekistan.
It should be noted that for many centuries the Uzbek people have been famous for their wrestlers and legendary riders, who became the founders of such national sports as kurash, belt wrestling, ulak-kupkari, Turan, Boykurgan. Thanks to the reforms carried out in our country, it has become possible to demonstrate to the world our national sport, which is the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.
Today Uzbek national wrestling - kurash is developed in more than 130 countries of the world, and it should be noted that its inclusion in the program of the Asian Games is one of the most important events not only in the history of sports of Uzbekistan, but also the whole world.
Khiva, declared the "Capital of the Turkic world" in 2020, annually hosts the international tournament "Games of Heroes", which is organized with the support of the World Federation of Heroes (WSF). The tournament is dedicated to the memory of Pahlavon Mahmud, the great son of the Uzbek people, a famous wrestler, teacher, philosopher and Sufi at one time was popular in Central Asia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and India.
Such events will undoubtedly contribute to the expansion of international cooperation in the development of sports tourism, improving its image, promoting the tourism potential and opportunities of Uzbekistan on the world stage.
During the event, a memorandum of cooperation on the development of national sports and folk games was signed between the World Ethnosport Confederation, its Chairman Necmeddin Bilol Erdogan and Minister of Tourism and Sports Aziz Abdukhakimov. In addition, a cooperation document was signed between the World Confederation of Ethnosport and the Association of Ethnosport of Uzbekistan.
