Today, the opening ceremony of the Central Asian team tennis championship among boys and girls under 12 took place in the Turkmen capital. This event became a new clear evidence of the transformation of Ashgabat into a recognized international sports center, with wide support of the International and Asian Tennis Federations, implemented under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, as well as the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Hero-Arkadag, of a targeted strategy for the development of physical culture and sports, which is one of the priority areas of the state policy of Turkmenistan. The venue for the opening ceremony of the championship was the Tennis Complex, which is part of the infrastructure of the capital’s Olympic village, built on the initiative of the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to host the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. And now this largest sports facility in the Central Asian region is used for holding major sports competitions, as well as for training athletes and everyone who wants to improve their health. Today, in the stands of the 4,000-seat indoor arena of the Olympic Village, where numerous spectators have gathered, a festive atmosphere reigns. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the beginning of the celebration, which marks the start of the competition, the events of which will now be followed by a wide audience of fans. And here comes the long-awaited moment. The national flags of the countries participating in the championship of Central Asia are taken out to the arena of the sports complex and the teams of athletes enter. They line up. The official opening part of the tournament begins. Then, the Chairman of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan E Dovletov addressed the participants a welcoming speech. Expressing sincere gratitude to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people Hero-Arkadag for the great attention to the development of sports and, in particular, tennis, as well as for the opportunity to hold the next major international competitions at a high level, the head of the national tennis organization cordially congratulated the participants of the tournament on its beginning and wished them a successful performance. The climax is coming: the Central Asian Tennis Championship is declared open! The National Anthem of Turkmenistan is played, under the majestic sounds of which the emerald cloth of the sacred Banner of the Motherland rises above the stands. Then the floor was given to the representative of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), responsible for the Asian region, Amir Borgei, who, addressing the audience, stressed that he was sincerely glad to see everyone in the gorgeous capital of Turkmenistan – Ashgabat at the opening ceremony. Emphasizing that the Turkmen side has created all the conditions for holding this tournament, including excellent sports facilities, Mr. Amir Borgei, on behalf of the ITF, expressed deep gratitude to the country’s leadership for their great support and significant contribution to the development of tennis. The bright final chord of the sports festival was the demonstrative performances, which were performed by pupils of sports schools of the Main Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the city of Ashgabat, the Karate-do Federation, as well as dance groups of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports and the Palace of Children and Youth. The tournament has just started, but it has already gone down in history by bringing together representatives of the countries of the region – Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for the second time. That was also the case in 2019, when the tournament was first held in Ashgabat. Both of our teams started in the championship with a victory. The boys’ team, represented by Suleyman Khudaiberdyev, Nazargeldy Amangeldyev (Ashgabat) and Ali Geldyev (Turkmenabat), confidently won today against the representatives of Kyrgyzstan – 3:0. And the girls’ team, which is played by Ailara Kakabaeva, Anna Ponyatova and Nyazli Hudaygulyeva (Ashgabat), with the same score, prevailed over rivals from Kyrgyzstan. Teams of boys and girls of Uzbekistan with the same score 3:0 won against the representatives of Tajikistan. And tennis players of Kazakhstan turned out to be stronger than their rivals from Afghanistan – 3:0. The organizers of the tournament also took care of its cultural program, within the framework of which today the guests of our capital visited the Nisa Historical and Cultural Reserve. A trip to the National Museum of Wildlife is also planned before the end of the competition. https://turkmenistan.gov.tm