Ashgabat hosted the opening ceremony of the “Ashgabat Open 2024” tennis tournament on 11 November, TDH reports.
This prestigious under-14 event features talented young players from 12 countries across Europe and Asia, including the including the United Kingdom, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The tournament is being held at the state-of-the-art Tennis Complex of the Ashgabat Olympic Town, a magnificent sports facility built on the initiative of National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. This world-class venue, the largest in Central Asia, now serves as a platform for major competitions and athlete training.
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”.
A welcoming address from President Serdar Berdimuhamedov was delivered at the opening ceremony. The Head of state stressed that Turkmenistan considers sport as an important tool for strengthening peace and friendship between peoples.
The President expressed confidence that the “Ashgabat Open 2024” tournament would contribute to strengthening international cooperation in the field of sports, promote the ideas of peace and friendship, as well as improve the skills of young tennis players.
E. Dovletov, Chairman of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan, and Mehdi Malekzade, representing the International Tennis Federation, delivered welcoming remarks to the participants.
As part of the cultural program of the tournament, the guests will visit the sights of Ashgabat, including the Cultural and Entertainment Center “Älem”, the National Museum of Wildlife and the International Akhal-Teke Equestrian Complex, take a tour of the Olympic Town, visit the shopping and entertainment centers “Berkarar”, “Aşgabat”, “Arkaç”.
The “Ashgabat Open 2024” tournament is a vivid testimony to the growing authority of Ashgabat as a sports center. Due to the large-scale work of the Turkmen capital in the field of sports development, Ashgabat was declared the “City of new sports opportunities of the CIS”.
The holding of the “Ashgabat Open 2024” underlines Turkmenistan’s desire to develop international sports cooperation and promote a healthy lifestyle.