New Delhi, India, September 8, 2024: The Olympic Council of Asia’s newly elected Vice President for Central Asia, Otabek Umarov, believes that the future is bright for Olympic sport throughout the continent.
Speaking after his election as OCA Vice President for Central Asia at the 44th OCA General Assembly in New Delhi on Sunday, Umarov pointed out the strong performance of Asia’s National Olympic Committees at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“The Paris Olympics were very successful for the Asia region,” he said.
“I am proud to see that Asia had four countries in the top 15 in the world. That is something that has not happened for a long time in the Olympic Games.”
At Paris 2024, China finished second on a silver medal countback with the United States after both countries had won 40 gold medals; Japan was third with 20 gold medals; South Korea finished in eighth place with 13 gold medals and Uzbekistan came in 13th with eight gold medals – five of them in men’s boxing.
“Uzbekistan achieved the highest results in history and proved that our athletes can compete not only at the continental level but also in the world,” he said.
OCA VP Umarov said that the republic’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, was fully backing sport in Uzbekistan and said he looked forward to meeting all the National Olympic Committees at the next Asian Youth Games in Tashkent in September 2025.
He also congratulated Raja Randhir Singh on his election as President of the OCA and wished him all success in this “important position.”
Regarding his own election, he added: “Thank you for the great trust you have placed in me, and I will do everything in my power to promote sport in our region.”