DUSHANBE, December 31, 2008, Asia-Plus — The Young Athletes Support Fund named after Rasoul Boqiyev has recognized the 14 year-old judoka from Dushanbe Muhammad Mirzoyev as the best young athlete of 2008.
A ceremony of handing over a color TV set to Muhammad Mirzoyev was held in the office of Tojiksodirotbonk’s (TSB) branch in Dushanbe’s Sino district on December 30. It is to be noted that the head of TSB’s branch in the Sino district Mulloyor Yorov is one of founders of the Rasoul Boqiyev Fund.
The Fund was established in August this year after Rasoul Boqiyev, one of the top judokas in Tajikistan in the -73 kg category, won the first Olympic medal for Tajikistan in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Yorov said that 5,496 somoni have been transferred by the country’s residents to the Fund to this date.
As it had been reported earlier, judoka Rasoul Boqiyev won the first medal for Tajikistan in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by defeating Dirk van Tichelt of Belgium on August 11. Rasoul Boqiyev, ranked No 3 in the world in his weight category, claimed his Olympic berth by finishing third at the 2007 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
“Muhammad Mirzoyev has participated in 12 judo championships, including three international tournaments, this year and has won all of them,” Yorov said.
