«Türkmenistan Sport», № 1 (21), 2024

The capital of Iran, Tehran hosted the 3rd international seminar on kabaddi (an ancient Indian team game) that brought together referees from Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Turkmenistan, among others. Three referees from the National Hanmudo Federation that includes this sport, which is becoming increasingly popular, honed their professional skills. This is vividly evidenced by the inclusion of kabaddi in the programme of continental and world tournaments. For example, this Indian game, which is similar to the Turkmen national game Aýterek-Günterek, has been represented at the Asian Summer Games for several decades. However, the main news of the year is the inclusion of kabaddi in the sporting events which are held under the auspices of the International Military Sports Council (CISM). CISM was founded in the late 1940s and today unites the armed forces from 140 countries. The International Military Sports Council is considered the most influential sports organisation after the International Olympic Committee and the International University Sports Federation that organises such sporting events as the Military World Games, the World Military Cup and the Military Football World Cup, among others. The inclusion of kabaddi in the programme of professional military competitions speaks about the effectiveness of this sport, since it teaches how to confront several rivals at once. Turkmenistan joined the CISM in 2017, and two years later, the national team represented Turkmenistan for the first time at the 7th Military World Games, which were held in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China. Our military servants from the Merkezi Goşun sports club competed for medals in the judo and wrestling tournaments. The kabaddi tournament will be held for the first time in Iran in April this year. Our national team is preparing for these competitions. By the way, preparatory work for these competitions were discussed during the above-mentioned international seminar for kabaddi referees. All the participants received certificates that confirm their qualification. Certificates were awarded to Chairman of the National Hanmudo Federation, Honoured Coach of Turkmenistan Orif Buharakov, Secretary General of the National Hanmudo Federation Guvanch Gulgeldiyev and a representative of kabaddi school from Mary velayat Nagmat Hojamammedov. These certificates give them the right to serve as a referee in not only classical international competitions in the Indian game, but also tournaments under the auspices of the International Military Sports Council. The beach kabaddi tournaments, which are played on sand, are held as well. In September this year, Iran will host the world championships in the beach version of this game, at which the Turkmenistan team is going to perform. The representatives of the National Hanmudo Federation, the branches of which operate in all the regions of the country, performed at the Turkmenistan Universal Fighting Championships, which took place in Ashgabat on February 27-29. On the eve of the tournament in Tashkent, our delegation will take part in the reporting and election conference of the Asian Hand-to-Hand Fighting Federation, as this martial art is included in the programme of the National Hanmudo Federation.