Tashkent, Uzbekistan, August 1, 2023: Asia’s next generation of ice hockey athletes were given a pep talk that was stirring and inspirational during the opening ceremony of an Olympic Council of Asia-organised training camp which has brought together boys and girls from 29 different nations to Tashkent.
As the curtain rose at the first ever Asian Ice Hockey Youth Camp on Tuesday, August 1, young athletes from Asia and Oceania – Australia and New Zealand – heard a message that would have been sweet music to their ears, being told they were champions.
“I see champions. I see a strong generation playing this beautiful game. Believe in yourself and make sure you work hard,” remarked Alisher Sadullaev, the First Deputy Minister of Youth Policy and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan in his opening address.
It is the first time the OCA is running a developmental programme in a winter sport and they have targeted athletes under 16 years, as well as coaches and game officials to spread the word with help from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the Uzbekistan Ice Hockey Federation.
Almost 120 participants will live and breathe ice hockey for the next seven days and the programme began with a brief opening ceremony at the Humo Arena in Tashkent – a 12,500-seater indoor stadium where ice hockey runs supreme among other winter sports.
“This was seven months in the planning and it is great to see everyone here as we finally face off,” said Tony Tarraf, OCA Head of Athletes Development Department, in his opening remarks.
Tarraf praised the support the OCA had received from the world governing body – IIHF – as well as the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee and the country’s ice hockey federation.
“The reason why we are here is because of the commitment Uzbekistan is putting into youth and sports. You are the future of sport, so try and benefit as much as you can from this camp,” Tarraf added.
NOC Secretary General Oybek Kasimov thanked the OCA and the IIHF for giving Uzbekistan the opportunity to host the seven-day training camp which ends on August 7. “I’m confident that in one week you will learn much,” noted Kasimov.
Aivaz Omorkanov, IIHF Vice President for Asia and Oceania, hailed the “historic” occasion where the OCA, the IIHF and the Uzbekistan Ice Hockey Federation had come together for the first time.
