Sport in Uzbekistan
Sports in Uzbekistanincludes sports that are played worldwide, such asfootball,boxing,wrestling,futsal,andjudo,as well as sports that originate in the country such askurash,which is a type of upright wrestling,belbogli kurash,turon,andboyqurgan.Uzbekistan will host the2024 FIFA Futsal World Cupand the 2025 Asian Youth Games.[1]
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Olympics[edit]
Since its independence in 1991, Uzbekistan has taken part in theSummer OlympicsandWinter Olympicswith increasing success. Uzbekistan has competed four times at theSummer Olympics,collecting one gold medal and five bronze medals inboxing,two gold medals and two silver medals inwrestling,and a silver medal injudo.Uzbekistan's only medal at theWinter Olympicswas a gold medal incross-country skiingin 1994. In the 2016 Rio Olympics Ruslan Nurudinov won gold in the men's 105 kg weightlifting, lifting a total of 431 kg, including an Olympic record 237 kg in the clean & jerk.
Uzbek athletes were particularly successful at the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo. The country won three gold medals: Ulugbek Rashitov in Taekwondo, Akbar Djuraev in Weightlifting and Bakhodir Jalolov in Boxing.[2]Uzbek gymnastOxana Chusovitinaalso competed in her 8th Olympic games under the Uzbek flag at the event.[3]
Football[edit]
Footballis the most popular sport in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan's premier football league is theUzbek League,which features 14 teams since 2010, before 16. The current champions areLokomotiv Tashkent,and the team with the most championships isFC Pakhtakor Tashkentwith eight. The currentPlayer of the Year(2017) isMarat Bikmaev.
The most successful football clubs in Uzbekistan areFC Bunyodkor,FC PakhtakorandFC Nasaf.In 2011, FC Nasaf wonAFC Cupand became the first Uzbekistan team to win the international club cup. Uzbek clubs previously participated in the now-defunct, formerly annualCIS Cup.
Uzbekistan U-16 wonAFC U-16 Championshipin 2012. In 2018Uzbekistan U-23became the champions inAFC U-23 Championshiphosted by China.Uzbekistan national team's best achievement at theAsian Cupwas a fourth-place finish at the2011 AFC Asian Cup.
Ravshan Irmatovwas named The Best Referee in Asia in four consecutive years (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014). AtGlobe Soccer Awardsin 2015 he was rewarded as Best Referee of The Year.[4][5]
TheBunyodkor Stadiumhas a capacity of 34,000, and is mostly used for football matches.
Basketball[edit]
Uzbekistan used to be part of the powerfulSoviet Union national basketball team.After the dissolution of the team, Uzbekistan founded its own team which was moderately successful between the mid-90s and mid-2000s.
Baseball[edit]
Ice Hockey[edit]
Uzbekistan used to be part of theSoviet Union national ice hockey team.
Humo Tashkent,a professional ice hockey team was established in 2019 with the aim of joiningKontinental Hockey League(KHL), a top level Eurasian league in future. Humo will join the second-tierSupreme Hockey League(VHL) for the 2019-20 season. Humo play their games at theHumo Ice Domecosting over €175 million; both the team and arena derive their name from the mythicalHuma bird,a symbol of happiness and freedom.[6]
Humo Tashkent was a member of the reformed Uzbekistan Ice Hockey League which began play in February 2019. The UIHL consisted of three other teamsBinokor Tashkent,HK Tashkent,&Semurg Tashkent,with all of the teams playing out of the Humo Ice Dome.[7]Semurg became the champions in the playoffs.[8]
Uzbekistan Hockey Federation (UHF) began preparation for joiningIIHFas a member and forming national ice hockey team in participating IIHF competitions.[9]
Rugby union[edit]
Uzbekistan used to be part of theSoviet Union national rugby union team,but since its independence in 1991, Uzbekistan has created its ownnational team.
Handball[edit]
Handballis one of Uzbekistan's most popular sports, but nothing special has been achieved.
Futsal[edit]
Futsalis one of Uzbekistan's most popular sports, thenational futsal teamhave qualified in theFIFA Futsal World Cupthree times in2016,2021where they made the Round of 16 and 2024. They also qualified in theAFC Futsal Asian Cup15 times and finished 2nd four times. Uzbekistan will host the2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup,it will be the first time that Uzbekistan has ever host a FIFA tournament.
Water polo[edit]
Uzbekistan's women's national under-20 water polo team qualified to the 2021FINA Junior Water Polo World Championships.[10]
Chess[edit]
Uzbekistan scored a surprise win at the 2022 chess olympiad held in Chennai, India.[11]The Uzbek team was undefeated, beating the higher-seeded Armenian and Dutch teams, and drawing the top seeds India and USA. The Uzbek team proved their staying power by placing second at the world team championships held at Jerusalem in November 2022.[12]Uzbekistan's top player, Nodirkbek Abdusattorov is the current world champion of rapid chess, winning the 2021 rapid world championship in a playoff against Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.[13]
Notable athletes[edit]
- Djamolidine Abdoujaparov,cyclist
- Artur Taymazov,wrestler
- Ruslan Chagaev,boxer
- Lina Cheryazova,freestyle skier
- Elvira Saadi,gymnast
- Maksim Shatskikh,footballer
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov,chess player
References[edit]
- ^"OCA » Games Timeline".
- ^"Uzbekistan NOC honours Olympic medal-winners on 30-year independence anniversary".5 September 2021.
- ^"Gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, 46, aims for ninth Olympics in 2024".
- ^"Messi batte Ronaldo e Buffon"(in Italian). Rai Sport. 2015-12-27.
- ^"Ravshan Irmatov named as best referee of 2015".UzDaily. 2015-12-28.
- ^"Bird of Happiness - a symbol of the HC HUMO"(in Russian). July 22, 2019.RetrievedJuly 27,2019.
- ^"Uzbekistan eyes to join International Ice Hockey Federation".February 15, 2019.RetrievedJuly 28,2019.
- ^"Semurg becomes winner of the Uzbekistan hockey championship".April 17, 2019.RetrievedJuly 28,2019.
- ^"Tashkent-based Humo club to play in Higher Hockey League in 2019-2020 season".Tashkent Times. June 3, 2019.RetrievedJuly 28,2019.
- ^Russia after fourth title at FINA World Women's Junior Water Polo ChampionshipOwen Lloyd (Inside the Games), 9 October 2021. Accessed 7 November 2021.
- ^"OPEN Standings – FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022".Retrieved2022-11-25.
- ^Hansen (chansen64), Carsten."China Wins World Team Chess Championship".Chess.com.Retrieved2022-11-25.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^"Results & Standings - FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship 2021".Chess.com.Retrieved2022-11-25.
