Sport in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan was once part of the Soviet Union, and did not compete in world sport under its own name until the 1990s.
Traditionally Uzbekistan fosters equestrians and wrestlers. They have this wrestling sport called “Kurash” which is an upright wrestling. Kurash refers to a number of folk wrestling styles that were practiced in Central Asia. The players are inside a big circle and uses towels to hold their opponents and their goal is to throw them off the feet. It is like Sumo wrestling but in this sport any size of man can join.
Today, football is now regarded as their most popular sport. The first International Club Cup for Uzbek Football was in 2011 when Nasaf won AFC Cup. Uzbekistan had two teams; one is FC Bunyodkor, the current champion, and the FC Pakhtakor Tashkent, who holds the most championships. Because of this, Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium with the capacity of 35,000 was built and is now mostly used for football matches.
Even before when Uzbekistan was still part of the Soviet Union they already play football and Berador Abduraimov who played 358 matches for FC Pakhtakor, represented the Soviet Union, was regarded to be the top goal scorer of the Soviet Top League in 1968. Today’s most popular football player of Uzbekistan is Serve Djeparov. He scored 34 goals in 96 matches when transferred to Pakhtakor Tashkent, won 6 Uzbek League and 6 Uzbek Cups from 2002-2007. He is now a midfielder of Seongnam FC
Uzbekistan first joined the Olympic Games as an independent state in 1994 and was a consistent participant ever since. Most of their gold medals came from either wrestling or boxing. Artur Taymazov has won a total of 1 silver (2000 Sydney) and 3 gold medals (2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London) from wrestling as is so far their best player as far as medals are concerned.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Uzbekistan.
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Popular sports of Uzbekistan
- Football (Soccer), wrestling, equestrian
Traditional or Regional Sports
- Kurash — an ancient martial art that originated in the territory of modern Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan Sporting Success
Great athletes from Uzbekistan
- Artur Taymazov (wrestling)
Uzbekistan Sports trivia
Uzbekistan at major events
Past sporting events hosted in Uzbekistan
Upcoming sporting events in Uzbekistan
- 2023 Men's World Boxing Championships in Tashkent
Annual sporting events held in Uzbekistan
Sporting Facilities in Uzbekistan
- Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium
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