The day before the opening of the 19th Summer Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, a solemn ceremony of welcoming the Turkmen sports delegation and raising the National Flag of Turkmenistan took place at the Flag Plaza Alley, located in the international zone of the Athletes’ Village, the website “Turkmenistan: Golden Age” reports.

There was a little rain before it started, but it did not dampen the festive atmosphere.

The envoys of the Turkmen state, who had the great honor of representing the country at the main sports competitions of this year, were welcomed by the head of the Asian Games Village, Mr. Lu Chongqiang, who wished the athletes from Turkmenistan great sporting success and new achievements.

“We are very happy that the Turkmenistan team is taking part in our sports festival,” said Lu Chongqiang. – Thank you for supporting our Games. We say: “Welcome to the Turkmenistan team” and assure that Turkmen athletes will feel at home here.”

The National Anthem of Turkmenistan is being performed. From now on, the green flag of the country will fly in the sky of Hangzhou until the closing of the Asian Games. At the end of the ceremony, the parties exchanged memorable gifts. The mayor of the Asian Games Village was presented with a unique Turkmen carpet - a national treasure of our people.

Today, together with Turkmen athletes, delegations from Macau, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, East Timor and Vietnam took part in the solemn flag-raising ceremony.

Representatives of the Organizing Committee of the Asian Games, the media of China and other countries of the world also participated in the event.

The ceremony of raising the National Flag of Turkmenistan in the Asian Games Village in Hangzhou turned into a real celebration, the atmosphere of which was complemented by the bright performance of Chinese artists who welcomed the Turkmen athletes to the beat of drums with a sparkling performance of national dance.

The Asian Games in Hangzhou have not yet opened, but the athletes of Turkmenistan have already experienced increased attention from the local media, which, after the Welcome Ceremony, took a keen interest in our athletes’ preparation and living and dining conditions for the team in the Asian Games Village.

The Asian Games in Hangzhou will be the fourth after the Games held in 1994 in Hiroshima (Japan), in 2002 in Busan (Republic of Korea) and Guangzhou (China), the venue of which was chosen to be a city other than the capital. The grand sports festival will unite people of different cultures and religions living on the Asian continent and will be held under the motto “Heart to Heart, @Future”, designed to symbolize the connection that the Asian Games create between Asian countries.

According to the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC), 11,934 athletes from 45 countries will take part in the upcoming continental medley competition, which is the largest number in the history of the Asian Games. The previous record was 11,300 at the XVIII Summer Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018.

Turkmenistan in 3x3 basketball, boxing, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, kurash wrestling, karate, athletics, swimming, weightlifting and wushu will be represented by the best athletes of the country who have passed a strict selection based on the results of performances at the world championships , Asia and other prestigious international tournaments.

The 19th Summer Asian Games will open on September 23 and will last until October 8.