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10 days to go to Olympic Day: Tajikistan Plans Week-Long Olympic Day Celebration

13 | 6 | 2015

Tajikistan is planning a week-long celebration of sport to mark this year’s Olympic Day thanks to the WOA development grant which has allowed the National Olympians Association to purchase sporting equipment. Activities in a variety of disciplines from athletics to football and chess will take place across the country starting on 18 June and culminating in a mass event on Olympic Day itself on 23 June.

Olympians such as triple-Olympic hammer thrower Dilshod Nazarov, who has recently qualified for Rio 2016, boxers Jahon Kurbonov, who competed at London 2012, and Mavzuna Chorieva, who became the first woman to win an Olympic medal under the Tajikistan flag when she picked up a bronze at London 2012, and archer Zebiniso Rustamova, who won bronze for the Soviet Union in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, will lead the planned Olympic Day activities.

Tajikistan’s celebrations will also give a special focus to enabling people with disabilities to get involved in sport, embracing the Olympic Day principles of Move, Learn and Discover to encourage everyone to take part and get active, regardless of age, gender, social background or sporting ability.

Zebiniso Rustamova, Olympic Bronze Medallist and chair of the NOA, said:

“Olympic Day is treated as a special occasion in Tajikistan. As one of the newer NOAs we value the opportunity to celebrate the ideals of Olympism across the country. Many of our athletes compete and train outside of Tajikistan so we are lucky to have the support of talented Olympians like Dilshod Nazarov, Mavzuna Chorieva and Jahon Kurbonov to help us mark the event.

“We are also grateful for the support we have been given from the WOA Grant which has allowed us to provide sporting equipment, such as archery bows, in order to promote sport to the next generation of athletes.”

Olympic Day is an annual celebration of Olympism, which will see International Federations, National Olympic Committees and Olympians come together to embrace the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect through sport and education.

Olympic Day has been widely marked in Tajikistan since 2009.

The WOA would like to share your inspirational Olympic Day stories, events and pictures on our digital and social platforms so please let us know about any planned Olympic Day activities by contacting info@thewoa.org.