Korean Archery Association vice president Jang Youngsool accompanied the World Archery secretary general on his trip in Uzbekistan.
The experienced administrator (and former head coach of the Hyundai Steel pro team) is a renowned facilities expert and travelled to Tashkent to give valuable advice on a new dedicated training centre planned for the capital, part of an Olympic City development which is aimed at hosting international events as well as domestic high-performance programmes.
World Archery’s delegation visited the Olympic Committee, met Uzbekistan Olympic Committee secretary general Oybek Saimov and sports minister HE Adkham Ikramov, as well as Uzbekistan archery federation president Rustam Djurayev and secretary general Orkhan Kopadze.
The productive discussions centred around international collaboration – and how knowledge sharing might accelerate the development in Uzbekistan, and elsewhere.
Stops at the current Taskhent training centre, for able-bodied and impaired athletes, the Olympic Museum and national centre for sports psychology culminated in a showcase finals session at the International Alpomish Barchinoy Tournament, one of the 175-plus competitions taking place annually in Uzbekistan.
The host country won four of the five events, with India taking the fifth. Nine countries participated, with Kazakhstan, Georgia and AIN also featuring on the podium.
Paris may have marked a milestone for archery in Uzbekistan – but with more than 2500 active archers, 12,000 young people discovering the sport in school every year, and a mission to grow backed by the country’s president, there’s plenty more to come from this emerging archery nation.
