Sambists who achieved historic results at the World Youth and Junior SAMBO Championships in Greek Thessaloniki were emotional met in Uzbekistan.
The national team of Uzbekistan was amazing at the tournament, having won 6 gold, 3 silver and 8 bronze medals – 17 awards in total. This allowed the team to take second place in the overall team standings.
The sambists were solemnly greeted at the Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport. The event was attended by officials and the wider sports community.
The athletes were greeted by a military band. Then they walked the red carpet, where they were applauded by those present.
After a solemn meeting at the airport, the sambists went to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports on a specially decorated double-decker bus. Driving along the roads of Tashkent, sambists received greetings from people on the streets of Tashkent and, of course, happily answered them.
The event continued at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. During the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports of Uzbekistan Avaz Karimov and Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee Oybek Kasymov made speeches, who congratulated the sambists on their victory.
The speakers at the event noted that SAMBO is developing in Uzbekistan, and attention to it is beginning to bear fruit. It was noted that SAMBO is one of the main sports that brings medals to the delegation of Uzbekistan at the Asian Games.
The participants expressed their hope that SAMBO will be included in the Olympic program in the near future.
After that, the heroes of the World Championships were awarded cash prizes. Gold medalists received 10 million soums, silver – 5 million soums and bronze – 3 million soums.
