Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The coronavirus pandemic has affected all areas of our lives, including in the direction of sport, great changes have occurred. Due to the epidemiological situation, athletes have not been taking part in any competitions for 4 months now. And training takes place at home.

An online meeting was held today, in which reports on the work done for the first half of the year were reviewed and issues on work plans provided for by the second half of 2020 were discussed. The meeting was attended by the president of the NOC Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov, executive officer of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Sultonov, employees of the NOC, the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, as well as the leadership of federations and associations in Olympic sports.

The meeting was opened by the NOC Secretary General Oybek Kasymov and introduced the agenda to those present. The first was the director of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Sports Medicine at the NOC, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Abdushukur Sadikov and spoke about the work done to implement government decisions related to the epidemiological situation.

Then the floor was introduced to the chairman of the Taekwondo Association of Uzbekistan Sherzod Tashmatov, who made a report on the preparations for the Tokyo Olympics and plans for the second half of 2020. In turn, the adviser to the president of the NOC, Nazirjon Khudaykulov, presented prepared materials on working with foreign trainers who were involved in national teams, as well as on organizing online workshops for young people in the regions; and the chief specialist of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, Akrom Nizametdinov, on the selection of young and talented athletes (selection work).

NOC President’s press secretary and information policy adviser Zafar Imamkhodzhaev made a presentation on the work done to promote a healthy lifestyle, the activities of the press services of sports federations, and upcoming plans and projects for the future. Director of the NOC Department Alisher Karimov made a report on the commercialization of federations. On this, all issues on the agenda were considered, and experts also expressed their opinions and asked questions of interest to them.

At the end, the President of the NOC Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov spoke and summed up.

“For a start, I want to express my gratitude to our Dear President and Government of the country. Despite the economically difficult time, the Head of State pays attention and supports the development of sports in the country. Moreover, funds have been allocated until the end of the year for training camps. The above opinions are very helpful. In turn, I would ask the leaders of the federations and associations to provide their proposals on attracting the necessary employees for work. Federations that have undergone a medical examination and fulfilling the necessary requirements can conduct training camps.

But all these points must be agreed with the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports. Now the world is in the same situation. We will be waiting for proposals from you on the introduction of new methods in the sports field. Soon international competitions will begin. When our government allows athletes to participate in these competitions, we must be fully prepared. And for this we need to control the sports form of our children, ”said Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov.

Also, during the event, issues were discussed on working with responsible organizations that support the Olympic movement, on conducting local training camps in the second half of the year, on working with the press services of the federations, as well as on spending leisure time for athletes during the training camps.