Physical culture and sport are values that ensure the health of society.
The development of this industry in Turkmenistan is one of the priorities of the state policy. To achieve these goals, the country is developing new methods of action in this area, implementing comprehensive reforms in the field of master of sports training, and making a significant contribution to the development of the Olympic movement. The development of physical culture and sports in our country, the formation of a healthy lifestyle as a result of a harmonious combination of a person's material and spiritual potential, as well as the further expansion of international cooperation in the field of sports have become one of the priorities of state policy.
Multifunctional stadiums, sports and recreation complexes, bike trails, sports schools and other facilities have been built and put into operation in all regions of the country. New methods of training athletes, specialists, coaches, and the practice of conducting sports games have been improved. Turkmen athletes actively participate in competitions held abroad.
Turkmenistan also offers ample opportunities for winter sports. A winter sports complex, a golf and sports complex, a Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports that meets international standards, as well as a multifunctional sports complex consisting of large ice rinks have been built in Ashgabat in the “Avaza” National Tourist Zone. The country hosts national hockey championships, as well as sports such as figure skating and short track. Hockey championships are also held in the country. The national hockey team of Turkmenistan has reached the international level. In 2009, the Silk Road rally was held, the route of which passed through the territories of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. In 2014, with the hosting of the Windsurfing World Cup in the “Avaza” National Tourist Zone, our country entered the calendar of international sailing competitions for the first time.
The reforms carried out in the sports system also contribute to improving the level of sportsmanship. The development of physical culture and sports is enshrined in the Laws of Turkmenistan "On Physical Culture and Sports", "On Horse breeding and Equestrian Sports", "On State Youth Policy", "On Volunteerism", "On combating doping in Sports".
In order to further strengthen international cooperation in this field, as well as to join the world Olympic movement, Turkmenistan has ratified the International Convention against Doping in Sports of the United Nations Specialized Agency for Education, Science and Culture, and has also joined the Nairobi Convention for the Protection of Olympic Symbols. The country has established a National Anti-Doping Agency.
Turkmenistan attaches great humanitarian importance to the concept of international sports cooperation and directly links it with the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. On September 15, 2017, at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council, a statement was adopted, initiated by Turkmenistan, entitled "On encouraging the valuable contribution of the Refugee Olympic Team to the consolidation of peace and human rights". At the initiative of our country, the UN General Assembly adopted important documents: Resolution declaring June 3 as World Bicycle Day and the Resolution about “United Nations Games”.
Turkmenistan has laid the fundamental foundations for effective international cooperation in the field of sports. In this regard, cooperation in the sports field is regulated on a bilateral basis with more than 60 States. In addition, issues of cooperation in the sports field find a worthy place in the declarations and statements adopted during the visits of the heads of state, as well as in the final documents of intergovernmental joint groups for the development of economic cooperation.
One of the main directions of international sports cooperation and the development of sports diplomacy is the consistent dissemination of Turkmen national wrestling throughout the world. The headquarters of the World Wrestling Federation has been operating in Ashgabat since 2015. National federations of this sport operate in more than 20 countries. In 2017, the continental federations of Europe, Africa and South America were established, and the European and African championships in Turkmen national wrestling were held. The work on spreading the Turkmen national struggle around the world continues today.
Turkmenistan is recognized as one of the centers of international sports cooperation. Within the framework of this active cooperation, the sphere of relations aimed at strengthening peace and humanism is expanding with the International Olympic Committee, the United Nations International Bureau for Sport for Development and Peace, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Culture and Sport, and the Olympic Council of Asia.
On September 17-27, 2017, the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were held under the motto "Sanity. Cheerfulness. Friendship." Athletes from 45 Asian countries and 19 Oceania countries took part in the Ashgabat 2017 competitions. This was the first time that a refugee sports team had participated in such a high-level competition. Turkmen athletes successfully competed at these Games, winning a total of 245 medals, including 89 gold, 70 silver and 86 bronze.
The competition was held in Ashgabat, in the Olympic Village, which was built specifically for the Games and has no analogues in Central Asia. More than 40 different facilities have been built in the village, two of which are listed in the Guinness Book of Records — the world's largest artistic and monumental image of a horse, placed on the roof of the Olympic Stadium, and the world's largest indoor water sports complex.
The V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games have given a powerful impetus to the wider dissemination and holding of prestigious international competitions in our country. In recent years, the international rally "Amul-Khazar-2018", the World Weightlifting Championship, runs and mass cycling races along the Great Silk Road, and the school cultural and sports festival of the Caspian states have been held. The worthy representation of the athletes of the national team of Turkmenistan at the XXXII Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Japan in 2021, and the winning of the first Olympic medal in the country's sports history testify to the great attention paid to the development of sports in our country.
Turkmenistan has extensive experience and capabilities in organizing and holding major sports competitions in the region and around the world. The successes and victories of Turkmen athletes who actively participate in international competitions are a clear evidence of the effectiveness of the strategy being implemented in this area. All this contributes to further strengthening Turkmenistan's reputation as a sports power on the world stage.
