Tashkent, Uzbekistan, September 23, 2020: Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov, President of the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee, has called for a “renaissance” in shooting if the sport is to aim high at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2022 and the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Uzbekistan NOC, together with the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, are focusing on preparing national teams for the 2022 Asian Games and the 2024 Olympic Games. This week the focus was on the plans drawn up by the Shooting Sports Federation of Uzbekistan for 2021-2024.
Uzbekistan shooters have so far failed to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. There is still a slim chance that two shooters can win berths from the 30 spots which were made available by the International Shooting Sport Federation. This situation has seen Shaabdurakhmanov calling for a resurgence in the sport.
The Uzbekistan NOC President said: “The national idea – the Third Renaissance – put forward by our esteemed President is also necessary for the field of sports. We need to introduce new methods into this sport.
“We hope to win only two of the maximum number of licenses for Tokyo. To prevent this from happening for the Paris 2024 Games, we must start acting now. If necessary, we will attract foreign specialists. To do this we need to take the bar higher and move towards greater goals,” Shaabdurakhmanov added.
Apart from hiring foreign coaches, other issues discussed at a ZOOM meeting between Shaabdurakhmanov and officials from the Shooting Federation were the need to consider the composition of the national team, conduct a thorough preparation for the national team before taking part in major international competitions, and the purchase of modern sports equipment for shooters.