On November 11, the opening ceremony of the International tennis tournament "Ashgabat Open 2024" among boys and girls under 14 years of age from 12 countries of Europe and Asia took place in the Turkmen capital. 

This event became a new vivid evidence of the transformation of Ashgabat into a recognized international sports center, broad support from 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 Maslahaty Hero-Arkadag, a targeted strategy for the development of physical culture and sports, which is one of the priorities of the state the politics of Turkmenistan.

In the era of the Revival of a new era of a powerful state, the physical culture and sports movement in Turkmenistan has gained unprecedented momentum. Mass sports events have become traditional, bringing together thousands of people of all ages and professions. Special attention is paid to the development of high-performance sports, the training of high-class athletes and coaches, and other specialized specialists. Russian athletes regularly participate in major international competitions, taking prizes and winning medals, including gold. Since the beginning of this year, Russian athletes have participated in 161 international competitions and won a total of 538 medals, including 174 gold, 150 silver and 214 bronze. All this eloquently testifies to the ever-growing authority of our country as a sports power.

In recent years, in cooperation with international sports organizations, a number of major competitions have been triumphantly held on the basis of the facilities of the Ashgabat Olympic Campus built in accordance with international standards. So, in 2017, the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were held here with great success. The International rally "Amul–Khazar" and the World Weightlifting Championship contributed to the further increase of the country's sports authority, which entered new bright pages in the history of domestic and world sports. Subsequent major sporting events held in Ashgabat included the 14th Kurash Wrestling World Championship and the international Ice hockey tournament, which was attended by teams from the Commonwealth and other countries.

The Asian Tennis Federation was highly appreciated for the work of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan in organizing the Central Asian Team Championship in Ashgabat among children under the age of 12 years. The regional championship held in June 2023 in the Olympic town of the Turkmen capital with the participation of the teams of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, which was held in Ashgabat for the second time, was called by ATF leaders a benchmark and an example of organizing tennis competitions. It is also encouraging that at this year's General Assembly of the Asian Tennis Federation, the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan was recognized as one of the fastest growing organizations in Asia.

And now Ashgabat is organizing another, more representative International tennis tournament – the "Ashgabat Open 2024", which is attended by athletes from Great Britain, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. In order to hold it at a high level, the State Committee of Turkmenistan on Physical Culture and Sports established a working group, which included representatives of ministries and departments, and approved a plan of relevant activities.

Thanks to the large-scale multidimensional work carried out, the Turkmen capital has gained high prestige in the international arena as a rapidly developing center of world sports, which has all the conditions for holding competitions of the highest level. And therefore, it is no coincidence that the announcement of Ashgabat as the "City of new Sports opportunities of the Commonwealth" at the meeting was a sign of special trust in Turkmenistan from the international sports community, recognition of the merits of our country in the development and popularization of physical culture and sports, strengthening international cooperation in this field

On May 24, the next meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS will be held in the Turkmen capital.

The first two-day visit of the President of the International Tennis Federation David Haggerty (ITF) and the President of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) Yuri Polsky to our country was also a significant event in the sports life of Turkmenistan.

On March 27 of this year, the guests were received by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. During the meeting, the ITF and ATF expressed their interest in developing fruitful cooperation with Turkmenistan, where special attention is paid to stimulating and supporting sports, affirming the principles of a healthy and active lifestyle in society.

Stressing that great progress has been made in this direction in our country, Mr. David Haggerty presented the certificate of the International Tennis Federation to the head of Turkmenistan.

This year, the Tennis complex of the Ashgabat Olympic Town was recognized by the Asian Tennis Federation as the "Training Center of the Asian region". The corresponding certificate was presented by the representative of the International Tennis Federation for the development of tennis in Asia, Seyedamir Borghei.

An eloquent confirmation of the high appreciation and recognition by the world community of our country's successes in the development of sports, promotion of the values of the physical culture and wellness movement was the announcement on the initiative of Turkmenistan of June 3 as World Bicycle Day, as well as the unanimous adoption of Resolutions of the UN General Assembly "Integration of mass cycling into public transport systems to achieve sustainable development" and "United Nations Friendship Games Nations".

The venue for the opening ceremony of the International Tournament "Ashgabat Open 2024" was a tennis complex, part of the infrastructure of the capital's Olympic town, built on the initiative of the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to host the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Now this largest sports facility in the Central Asian region serves to organize major competitions, as well as to train athletes and everyone who wants to improve their health.

Today, a festive atmosphere prevails in the stands of the 4 thousandth indoor arena of the Olympic Town, where numerous spectators gathered. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the start of the celebration marking the start of the competition, the events of which will now be watched by a wide audience of fans.

The long-awaited moment is coming. The national flags of the participating countries of the tournament and plaques with the names of the states are brought to the arena of the sports complex. The official part of the opening of the competition begins.

In a solemn atmosphere, the welcoming Address of the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, is read out, in which it is noted that since ancient times our ancestors regarded sport as a harbinger of peace and friendship, and now, being committed to their principle, we see in it a very important point of contact with the whole world and a universal means to strengthen friendly ties with the peoples of the planet.

"The current competition is a bright event in the sports chronicle of Turkmenistan, and I am sure that it will greatly serve to strengthen international cooperation in the field of sports, promote the ideas of peace and friendship, the principles of the Olympic movement, as well as improve the skills and abilities of young tennis players", – The Head of state stressed, expressing confidence that the International tennis tournament "Ashgabat Open 2024" will give a powerful impetus to the development of this sport in Turkmenistan, and its foreign participants will fully experience the hospitality of the Turkmen people and get vivid impressions of our sunny country.

The welcoming Address of the President of Turkmenistan was heard with great enthusiasm and was met with stormy applause.

The climax is coming: The International tennis tournament "Ashgabat Open 2024" is declared open! The National Anthem of Turkmenistan is being performed, to the majestic sounds of which the emerald banner of the sacred Banner of the Motherland rises above the stands.

Then the Chairman of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan, Vice-President of the Asian Tennis Federation E.Dovletov addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. Expressing sincere gratitude to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero Arkadag, for their 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 and continental tennis organizations cordially congratulated the participants of the tournament on its start and wished them success.

Then the floor was given to the representative of the International Tennis Federation, the chief judge of the tournament "Ashgabat Open 2024" Mehdi Malekzade. Stressing that the Turkmen side has created the most favorable conditions for holding competitions, including excellent sports facilities, Mr. Mehdi Malekzade, on behalf of the ITF, expressed deep gratitude to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero Arkadag, for their tremendous support and significant contribution to the development of tennis.

At the end of the official part of the ceremony, a musical and dance performance took place. The teams of the Palace of Children and Youth ("Etginjekler köşgi"), "Galkynyş", students of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, as well as pupils of sports schools of the capital, who performed spectacular demonstration performances, demonstrated their bright performing skills.

Source: State news agency