Today, the opening ceremony of the 14th World Kurash Wrestling Championship took place in the Turkmen capital. This event became a new striking evidence of the transformation of Ashgabat into a recognized international sports center, broad support from the International Kurash Association (IKA) implemented under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, as well as the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Hero-Arkadag for a targeted strategy for the development of physical culture and sports, which is one of the priority areas of state policy of Turkmenistan.

In the Era of the Revival of the New Epoch of the Powerful State, the physical education, health and sports movement in Turkmenistan acquired an unprecedented scale. Mass sports events have become traditional, bringing together thousands of people of all ages and professions. Particular attention is paid to the development of elite sports, the training of high-quality athletes and coaches, and other specialized specialists. Domestic athletes regularly participate in major international competitions, taking prizes and receiving medals, including gold. Thus, since the beginning of this year, domestic athletes have taken part in 243 international competitions and won a total of 674 medals, including 190 gold, 194 silver and 290 bronze. All this eloquently testifies to the constantly growing authority of our country as a sports power.

In recent years, in collaboration with international sports organizations, a number of major competitions have been triumphantly held on the basis of the facilities of the Ashgabat Olympic Village, built in accordance with international standards, including the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, which brought together more than 5,000 of the strongest in 2017 athletes from 62 countries, including Oceania, competed for medals in 21 sports. In 2018, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, the UN General Assembly established World Bicycle Day, which is widely celebrated on the 3rd of June every year. In the same year, our country hosted the «Amul-Hazar 2018» International Rally, the route of which ran along the route of the historical Great Silk Road, and the World Weightlifting Championships with great success. And in June of this year, the Turkmen capital for the second time became the venue for the Central Asian team tennis championship among boys and girls under 12 years old, in which young athletes from six countries – Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. These sporting events are a worthy contribution to strengthening international relations, peace and friendship. And the recent election of Turkmenistan as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Culture and Sports (CIGEPS) for 2023-2027 was another achievement of the country’s sports diplomacy.

And now Ashgabat is hosting another major world-scale tournament. In order to hold the World Kurash Championship at a high level, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a Resolution on the 12th of July, creating the Organizing Committee and approving its composition. And on the 16th of August, the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Physical Culture and Sports signed an agreement with the International Kurash Association (IKA) to hold a world championship in this type of wrestling.

In the evening, the opening ceremony of the World Kurash Wrestling Championship took place. The venue was the Martial Arts Sports 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 V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. And now this largest sports facility in the Central Asian region serves to host major sports competitions, as well as to train athletes and everyone who wants to improve their health.

Today, a festive atmosphere reigns in the stands of the 5,000-seat indoor arena of the Olympic village, where numerous spectators have gathered. Everyone is excitedly awaiting the start of the celebration, which marks the start of the competition, the events of which will now be followed by a wide audience of fans.

The long-awaited moment is coming. The national flags of the countries participating in the World Cup are brought into the arena of the sports complex. They line up. The official part of the opening of the tournament begins.

In a solemn atmosphere, the welcoming Address of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov is read out, which notes that our ancestors, who lived on the ancient Turkmen land, which is the heart of the Great Silk Road, attached great importance to raising a physically and spiritually healthy young generation. Thus, a unique kurash school was created to train athletes who demonstrated their skills at the celebrations.

«Our people, who sincerely love the Turkmen national wrestling inherited from their ancestors, have improved it over the centuries and brought it to the level of art. He extended his rich experience in training wrestlers to the whole world thanks to the Great Silk Road and made a great contribution to the development of wrestling as a sport», –the head of state emphasized, expressing confidence that the championship, having become an important event in the history of world sports, will make a great contribution to improving the skills of kurash athletes, popularizing the Olympic movement, strengthening peace, friendship and international sports cooperation. The Welcome Address of the President of Turkmenistan was heard with great enthusiasm and greeted with thunderous applause.

The climax comes: the World Kurash Championship is declared open! The National Anthem of Turkmenistan is being performed, to the majestic sounds of which the emerald banner of the sacred Flag of the Motherland rises above the stands.

Next, the floor was given to the President of the International Kurash Association (IKA) Haidar Farman, who, addressing the audience, emphasized that he was sincerely glad to see everyone in the beautiful capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, at the opening ceremony of the World Kurash Championship.

Emphasizing that the Turkmen side has created the most favorable conditions for holding this tournament, including excellent sports facilities, Mr. Haydar Farman, on behalf of the IKA, expressed deep gratitude to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero-Arkadag, for their enormous support and significant contribution to the development of wrestling kurash.

At the end of the official part of the ceremony, the participants of the celebration were shown a video about the beauty of Turkmen nature, national values and riches of our country to the sound of the gargy-tuyduk.

Next, the audience was presented with a number of dance numbers dedicated to the national Turkmen wrestling, Turkmen carpets, and cultural heritage items. And of course, what would a holiday be without the fiery ancient magical dance kushtdepdi! Being a kind of personification of the inextricable connection of times and generations, it has become an integral part of not only the national, but also the world cultural heritage. Thus, by decision of UNESCO, kushtdepdi was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

So, the World Kurash Championship has started. Ahead of the fans are exciting fights in seven men's and eight women's weight categories.