Last autumn, the Turkmen capital hosted the international tennis tournament “Ashgabat Open 2024” among boys and girls under 14 years old from 12 countries of Europe and Asia. This event confirmed Ashgabat’s reputation as a recognized international sports hub, enjoying wide support from international sports federations.
In recent years, Turkmenistan has managed to organize and hold a number of major competitions in its capital city in cooperation with international sports organizations. Suffice it to recall that in 2017 the sports arenas of the newly built Olympic Village hosted the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games with great success. The country’s sports reputation was further strengthened by large-scale competitions such as the World Weightlifting Championship and the World Kurash Wrestling Championship.
The Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) highly praised the work of the Turkmenistan Tennis Federation in organizing the Central Asian Team Championship for children under 12 in Ashgabat. This regional championship, which took place in June 2023 in the Olympic Village of the Turkmen capital, was rated by the ATF leaders as a model and a benchmark of tennis competitions. The Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan was recognized as one of the fastest growing organizations in Asia at the ATF General Assembly held in 2024.
It is easy to understand why Ashgabat was entrusted with hosting another high-level international tennis tournament, “Ashgabat Open 2024”, which brought together young tennis players from Great Britain, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The tennis complex that is part of the infrastructure of the capital’s Olympic Village was the venue of the grand opening ceremony of the international tournament “Ashgabat Open 2024”. This largest sports facility in the Central Asian region is used for large-scale international competitions, as well as training of sportsmen and all those who wish to improve their health.
The official part of the ceremony was followed by music and dance performances. Art groups of the Palace of Children and Youth, students of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, as well as the capital’s sports schools demonstrated their brilliant performance skills.
During six days of the tournament at the tennis complex of the Olympic Village, boys and girls from different countries of the world played exciting singles and doubles not only for medals of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), under whose auspices the tournament was held, but also for the opportunity to improve their ranking.
The doubles competition, in which 16 pairs of boys and 14 pairs of girls took part, finished with a convincing victory of Turkmenistan’s tennis players. Representatives of the Turkmen tennis school reached the finals in both types of the program and played for the first and second places. The winners among boys were Nazar Amangeldiev and Kerimgeldi Velibegov, who beat their compatriots Yunus Annamyradov and Ali Geldiyev in the final – 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (7:4). In the doubles among girls, as expected, the first-seeded Turkmen tennis players Ilima Guseynova and Aylara Kakabaeva became winners, beating second-seeded compatriots Aynur Annamyradova and Nazli Khudaikuliyeva with a score of 6:4, 6:1.
In singles, all medals went to Turkmenistan’s tennis players. It should be noted that the gold medal in the finals was contested by the winners of the doubles – Ilima Guseynova and Aylara Kakabaeva. The more experienced Ilima won in two sets (6:3, 6:1) and rose to the top step of the podium for the second time.
In the boys singles, the tournament’s second runner-up Suleyman Khudayberdyev won the silver medal, losing in the finals to Muhammad Hassan Usmani (Pakistan) 1:6, 0:6. Malaysian Gareth Lim Hao Zhe won the bronze medal.
An award ceremony was held after the matches. The winners and prize-winners of the tournament were presented with medals and certificates of the Asian Tennis Federation. On the outcomes of the four-day program of the “Ashgabat Open 2024” tournament, representatives of the host country won 8 medals. The current achievements of Turkmenistan’s tennis players are the result of the great attention paid to the development of sports in the country.
According to the heads of sports delegations, Ashgabat is undoubtedly worthy of hosting not only junior tennis competitions, but also major professional ATF tournaments. There are all conditions for this, including the modern sports infrastructure of the Olympic Village.
The organizers of “Ashgabat Open 2024” also organized a cultural program that helped the participants to learn more about the Turkmen history and rich heritage of the people, its ancient original traditions. They were able to taste national cuisine and see the sights of white marble Ashgabat that offers ample opportunities for sports.
Participants of the award ceremony of the international tennis tournament “Ashgabat Open 2024” adopted an address to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, in which they expressed sincere gratitude for the hospitality and support in holding this sporting event at a high organizational level.