Multiple champion of Tajikistan in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in the 95 kg category, Iskandar Rustam, will carry the national flag of Tajikistan at the opening ceremony of the 8th Asian Summer Games that will kick off in Indonesia on August 18.
The Tajik delegation participating in the Asiad-2018 consists of more than 100 people, including 80 athletes who will compete in 15 disciplines, according to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Tajikistan.
Tajik athletes will compete in women’s football, kurash (folk wrestling style practiced in Central Asia), freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, judo, karate, sambo, taekwondo (WTF), jiu-jitsu, weightlifting, track and field athletics, swimming, boxing, padding, shooting sports, and archery.
The Tajik national team members include Rio Olympic champion Dilshod Nazarov (hummer throw), world champion in sambo Behrouz Khojazoda, internationally known judoka Komronshoh Ustopiriyon and other known Tajik athletes.
This year, Tajik athletes will participate in the Asian Summer Games for the seventh time. In the previous six Asiads, Tajik athletes won totaling 21 meads, including 4 gold, 3 silver and 14 bronze medals.
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games, they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
In its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. Forty-six nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974.
The most recent games were held in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 to October 4, 2014, while the next games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia from August 18 to September 2, 2018.
Fifty one sports, spanning 39 different disciplines and nearly 400 events, have been part of the Asian Games program at one point or another, including 2018 Games in Jakarta and Palembang. The most program was forty-two sports, have comprised the schedule for 2010 Games.
