A well-known Tajik athlete, Olympic medalist, archer Zebiniso Rustamova expressed dissatisfaction with the achievements of Tajik athletes at the II CIS Games in Belarus.
According to her, considering how many Tajik athletes participated in the Games, it would be possible to achieve better results.
"There are 13 medals, but there were more than 130 participants! At the last Games we had 14 medals – 7 silver and 7 bronze – and 50 participants. Yes, this time we have one gold, but it was mined only in the last days of the competition. With 138 participants, our athletes had to take more awards, and they took even less than at the last Games," she said in an interview with the portal Sports.tj.
According to Rustamova, Tajik sport is experiencing an era of stagnation.
"There is no progress, but there is no big decline either. Are we standing still? – says the famous athlete.
Rustamova said that not so long ago a new Law on sports was adopted by the government of the country, a Training center for Olympic teams was created, world sports facilities were built, there is an instruction to attract legionnaires and much more.
"But no one works on them. You know, the positions of physical culture and sports workers have not been approved for 30 years, and the president's instructions for full-time teams have not been fulfilled. And who is responsible for doing all this? Who should create the conditions? Youth and Sports Committee? The Olympic Committee? Who is interested in athletes? Now few people know who is responsible for what," says Zebiniso Rustamova.
In her opinion, finances in Tajik sports are used incompetently, and specialists are not appreciated.
"There are only a few specialists in our sport, and even then they are not supported, they are bypassed. And here's the result: where will the growth and progress come from? I wonder in general whether they will do an analysis of performances at the CIS Games?", – Rustamova said.
At the II CIS Games, Tajik athletes won a total of thirteen medals, and took 8th place (last year 7th place) in the team competition among 22 countries.
The Commonwealth Games were held in 20 sports. 138 athletes of Tajikistan took part in the competition in 13 sports, including 20 girls.
