Culture of Uzbekistan - Sport

Sport

Main article: Sport in Uzbekistan See also: Uzbekistan at the Olympics, Football in Uzbekistan, and Rugby union in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is home to former racing cyclist Djamolidine Abdoujaparov. Abdoujaparov has won the points contest in the Tour de France three times, each time winning the coveted green jersey. The green jersey is second only to the yellow jersey. Abdoujaparov was a specialist at winning stages in tours or one day races when the bunch or peloton would finish together. He would often 'sprint' in the final kilometer and had a reputation as being dangerous in these bunch sprints as he would weave side to side in a sprint. This reputation earned him the nickname 'The Terror of Tashkent'. Artur Taymazov won Uzbekistan's first wrestling medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, as well as two gold medals at both the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics in Men's 120 kg.

Ruslan Chagaev is a professional boxer representing Uzbekistan in the WBA. He won the WBA champion title in 2007, after defeating Russian Nikolai Valuev. Chagaev defended his title twice before losing it to Vladimir Klitschko in 2009.

Uzbekistan is the home of the International Kurash Association. Kurash is an internationalized and modernized form of the traditional Uzbek fighting art of Kurash.

Football is the most popular sport in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan's premier football league is the Uzbek League, which features 16 teams. The current champions are FC Bunyodkor, and the team with the most championships is FC Pakhtakor Tashkent with eight. The current player of the year (2010) is Server Djeparov. Uzbekistan regularly participates in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup. Nasaf won AFC Cup in 2011, which is the first international club cup for Uzbek football.

Before Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, the country used to be part of the Soviet Union football, rugby union, ice hockey, basketball, and handball national teams. After Uzbekistan got split up from the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan created its own football, rugby union, and futsal national teams.

Other popular sports in Uzbekistan include rugby union, handball, baseball, ice hockey, basketball, and futsal.

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Famous quotes containing the word sport:

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    —George Orwell (1903–1950)