DUSHANBE, February 5, 2013, Asia-Plus — Four athletes from the specialized sports school for people with disabilities in the city of Kulob represented Tajikistan in the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games that took place in Pyeong Chang, South Korea.
According to Murodali Teshayev, a spokesman for Tajikistan’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), Fayziddin Tourayev and Husein Khojayev won gold medals in men’s 500- and 100-meter skiing races respectively and Farida Qurbonova and Anastasia Pinkova won silver medals in women’s skiing races.
The event was reportedly the largest Special Olympics World Winter Games, featuring seven sports including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snow boarding, snow shoeing, short-track speed skating, figure skating, and floor hockey.
Special Winter Olympics is a platform for the people with intellectual disabilities to realize their potential, develop physical fitness and demonstrate their inner abilities in a friendly atmosphere.
Under the supervision of the Special Olympics Movement, founded in 1968, the numbers of athletes have grown from a few hundred to more than 3.7 million in over 170 countries, the official statistics said.
