The captain of the men's team of Turkmenistan at the Central Asian championship (U-12) held in Ashgabat, the country's first rocket Yuri Rogussky commented on the successful start of his wards in the tournament. Let us remind that on the day of its opening, the teams of Turkmenistan among boys and girls with the same score 3:0 won against the representatives of Kyrgyzstan, and the next day, the Turkmen team with the same score prevailed over rivals from Afghanistan.
- The match with Afghanistan turned out to be quite easy for us, - the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports the words of Yuri Rogussky. - The day before, in the opening game with the national team of Kyrgyzstan, in the actions of my wards, there was a little nervousness and great responsibility for the result. Yes, this is understandable. Performing in front of your fans, and even in a huge hall in the presence of 4 thousand spectators, is very exciting. But the guys coped with the initial excitement and in three matches with the Kyrgyz gave only three games to their opponents. And today we played without mistakes and confidently won.
– How can you explain such a successful start of our team?
- Good team preparation. With the election last year of the chairman of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan, Eziz Dovletov, master of sports, winner of the Davis Cup of the IV group of the Asia and Oceania zone, prize-winner of many international and national tournaments, member of the international working group under the ITF President for the provision of the Davis Cup and the Billie Ging King Cup, our athletes began to travel to competitions more often and bring more and more medals from them. It is enough to remember that only this year, at a number of tournaments abroad, Turkmen athletes won five medals of various denominations.
The international cooperation with the national tennis federations of many countries, which has also noticeably intensified over the past year, has made it possible not only for our athletes to participate in representative competitions, but also to conduct the necessary training camps abroad. So, in March of this year, the Turkmen players participating in the current Asian Championship (U-12) underwent a serious “run-in” at a very strong team tournament in Israel, and in May they held fruitful preparatory camps in Tashkent, within which they had a chance to play friendly matches with strong rivals.
- What are the tasks facing the tennis players of Turkmenistan at the current championship of Central Asia?
- The minimum task for us is to be among the winners, and the maximum is to become winners. We are aiming for gold.
- Are you seriously? It will be difficult to play on equal terms with the team of Kazakhstan, where the European champion in the junior team championship under 18 years old, the winner of Wimbledon 2022 and five WTA tournaments, Elena Rybakina, who currently occupies the 4th place in the world women's ranking, lives, and where tennis traditions are very developed, it will be difficult. And in Uzbekistan, which is also rich in sports talents, the development of tennis is also at a very high level.
- I agree that it will not be easy for us against these opponents. But we do not stand still, we are moving forward in the development of tennis and someday we must break these stereotypes.
In the same Kazakhstan, and in the entire Central Asian region, for example, there is no such Olympic village as we have. In this regard, we are very grateful to the President of Turkmenistan and the National Leader of the Turkmen people for the excellent conditions in which we can now prepare for competitions and hold major international tournaments at a high level.
It is a great honor for Turkmen athletes to compete for their flag and represent their country at international competitions. And so, our tennis players are very happy with the opportunity to play on their native land with the great support of the fans.
The current children's tournament is held according to all international standards, as well as competitions among adults, which makes its participants feel like professionals at the age of 12. And this is very important in terms of the growth of further skills, - said Yuri Rogussky, mentor of the men's team of Turkmenistan at the championship of Central Asia (U-12).
The Central Asian Tennis Championship (U-12) will end on June 9.
