Tajik athletes are intensively preparing for the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG), which are just seven months away. According to Tajikistan’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), the teams for various sports will be finalized soon.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first Games, which were held in 2005 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as reported on the official website of the event.
The second Games were originally scheduled to take place in October 2009 in Iran, later rescheduled for April 2010, and ultimately canceled after a dispute arose between Iran and the Arab World over the use of the term "Persian Gulf" in logos for the Games, as some countries in the Arab world used the term "Arabian Gulf" instead. Dispute over the name has been a recurring source of disharmony between Arab states and Iran.
The third Games were held in Indonesia in 2013, the fourth edition took place in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2017, and the fifth took place in Konya, Turkiye, in 2022.
At the previous Islamic Games in Turkey, Tajik athletes participated in table tennis, athletics, taekwondo (WT), freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, weightlifting, archery, and judo.
Tajikistan won 3 silver and 5 bronze medals, with the team placing 29th overall. Tennis player Ekaterina Ishchenko won a bronze medal in table tennis in the Paralympic category.
In Judo, Abubakr took a bronze medal in the 100 kg weight category, Komronshokh Ustopiriyon became the silver medalist in the 90 kg weight category, and Shodmon Rizoyev won a bronze medal in the 81 kg weight category. In the team judo competition, Tajikistan participated for the first time and earned a bronze medal.
Ildar Ahmadiyev won a silver medal in athletics in the long jump with a result of 7.86 meters.
In Greco-Roman wrestling, Aslam Azizov in the 55 kg weight category and Firuz Mirzoradzhabov in the 63 kg weight category each earned a bronze medal.
The 6th Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 will be held in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, from November 7-21, 2025.
The Islamic Solidarity Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Managed jointly by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF), the Games involve elite athletes of the OIC competing in a variety of sports.
The Solidarity Games were established to strengthen Islamic camaraderie and reinforce the values of Islam, primarily to the youth. The ISSF strives to improve Islamic solidarity, promote Islamic identity in sports and help reduce discrimination toward Muslims.
There are currently 57 members of the OIC. Non-Muslim citizens from member countries are also allowed to take part in the Games. With the level of political fragmentation, the deficiencies in economic development in many Muslim countries, and the financial cost of the Islamic Solidarity games, the longevity of the games is an on-going challenge.
