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soccer

Uzbekistan Qualify for the FIFA World Cup

On June 5, history was made in Uzbekistan as the national football team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A nervy 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi was enough to secure them a place at next year’s tournament in North America. It marks the first time that the 34-year-old nation will appear in the final stages of the competition. They become only the third nation from the former USSR, after Russia and Ukraine, and the first from Central Asia, to do so. A Night of Nerves The final hurdle was not an easy one. The Uzbeks faced an intimidating atmosphere even before kick-off, with long airport screening processes meaning over 100 fans were detained for between 7-9 hours at Sharjah airport. Then there was the weather, even at 8pm, the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi sweltered in 31-degree heat. Nevertheless, the team was helped by an Uzbek away support that did not cease all match. The away section was full well before kick-off, and the chants of “Oz-Bek-Is-Ton!”, accompanied by the pounding of drums, could be heard around the stadium. The Uzbeks, with just one loss in their nine-match qualifying campaign, have built their play around a solid defense. In six out of their nine qualifying matches, they did not concede a goal. The team’s star player, Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov, has been the lynchpin of that formidable rearguard, but this is not a side of individuals. The whole team worked tenaciously for each other, and even when their protection was breached, the impressive Uktir Yusupov was on hand to make a few smart saves. Towards the end, the Uzbek fans and coaching staff were screaming at the referee to blow the final whistle after he added ten minutes of additional time. But when time was finally up, well-earned and long-awaited joy was plain to see on every face. Several players broke out sobbing. Celebrations The elation was shared not only by the players. The Uzbek media present in the stadium were seen jumping around the press box in delirium. Back home in Uzbekistan, where half the country had stayed up to watch the match, there was similar joy. “The feeling is indescribable. We’ve been waiting for this day for thirty-four years!” said Diyor Mirpolatov, a 19-year-old student from Tashkent told The Times of Central Asia. Xojiakbar Xamdamov, a graphic designer from Andijan, also could not hide his relief at finally making the tournament. “The failure had even become part of Uzbek pop culture,” he said. “It gets mentioned by standup comedians, in movies, on talk shows… now I think everything will change.” Mirpolotov says that he plans to go to the United States for the tournament: “I’m also going to apply as a volunteer for the World Cup, so I can get more access to matches.” His dream is to see his country play against Portugal. “It would be amazing for Cristiano Ronaldo to play against Uzbekistan,” he said. Xamadov is more circumspect. “Uzbekistan is one of those countries from...

tennis

Bublik Loses at Roland Garros After Run to Quarterfinals

Alexander Bublik’s impressive run at the French Open is over. The Russia-born tennis player from Kazakhstan was routed by top-ranked Jannick Sinner of Italy in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Sinner easily defeated Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0, ending the match with a serve down the middle and then a crosscourt forehand winner. Still, Bublik smiled as he walked up to the net to shake hands and exchanged a few warm words with Sinner. Bublik’s run to the quarterfinals was his best performance in a major tournament despite his past declarations that he detested playing on clay.

UAE

Long Airport Screenings for Uzbek Fans Ahead of World Cup Qualifier in UAE

Football fans from Uzbekistan have experienced lengthy airport screenings on arriving in the United Arab Emirates to attend a World Cup qualifying match that could, in the event of a win for their team, send the Central Asian country into its first FIFA World Cup. More than 100 Uzbek fans who traveled to the UAE ahead of the June 5 game between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates were “detained” at Sharjah airport for seven to nine hours on Monday, the Gazeta.uz media outlet reported. A journalist from the outlet who was among the passengers on the flight said women and elderly people were let through first, but many men were held for long periods. The delays, which prompted the two governments to hold negotiations aimed at improving the situation, come just over a month after warnings that the visa-free arrangement between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates could be in jeopardy because of an increase in violations by Uzbek citizens in the emirates. In March, a court in Abu Dhabi sentenced three Uzbek citizens to death after they were convicted of murdering Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi whose body was discovered in the Emirati city of Al Ain in 2024. In April, more than a dozen Uzbek nationals were detained after a street brawl in Dubai in which some people were stabbed and one was reportedly killed. Following the recent airport delays for football fans, a spokesman for Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its diplomats in Abu Dhabi and Dubai held urgent negotiations with UAE officials. “According to the UAE, screening times at airports are increasing due to increased security measures in the country in connection with various international events,” ministry spokesman Akhror Burkhanov said on Telegram. “Currently, all resources have been mobilized to quickly screen our citizens, and as a result, they have begun to enter the country.” Uzbekistan’s national team is second with 17 points in Group A after Iran, which has already qualified. FIFA says “a point in Abu Dhabi would send Uzbekistan into a maiden FIFA World Cup,” but the Central Asian team can still qualify if it then beats Qatar at home. The World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in 2026.

tennis

Creature of Clay: Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik Reaches Quarterfinals at Roland Garros

Tennis player Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who has said he hates clay, is developing a taste for the surface at Roland Garros. On Monday, Bublik defeated Jack Draper of Great Britain to reach the quarterfinals in Paris, his best performance in a major tournament. After the four-set victory, the world no. 62 fell to the ground in joy and relief and then got up, his face smeared with the court’s red clay. “Sometimes in life there’s only one chance and I had a feeling that that was mine and I couldn’t let it slip,” the Russia-born player said in an on-court interview with Alex Corretja, a former Spanish player who thrived on clay when he was on the tour. "Standing here is the best moment of my life. Period,” said the unseeded Bublik, who came back from one set down in the 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Draper, a top ten player. In 2022, after defeating Stan Wawrinka in Monte Carlo, Bublik complained that he was moving like an “elephant” on the clay and declared: “I hate this surface.” Bublik isn’t the only player to have struggled with clay, which tends to involve a lot of sliding, high bounces and grit and patience during long, energy-sapping rallies. Maria Sharapova once said she felt like “a cow on ice” on clay, though she won two of her five majors at Roland Garros. Similarly, it took a while for Andre Agassi to warm to clay but one of his eight majors came in Paris. Bublik isn’t in the league of those champions, but just as they did, he is coming around to clay. His best previous result at a Grand Slam tournament was the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023. “All of Bublik's four tour-level titles and 11 finals have come on either hard or grass courts. His 25 wins and 41 per cent win rate on clay entering Roland Garros are both his lowest marks across all surfaces,” the ATP Tour website said. “You know, I’m standing here like I won” the tournament, the delighted 27-year-old said after the win over Draper. “But at the end, yeah, what can I say. Thank you guys. I mean I can’t cry here. Come on, stop. Let me be in peace.” When Corretja invited him to go ahead and cry, Bublik said: “I still have a match to go. I’m a professional tennis player. I’ve got to get ready.” That’s for sure. On Wednesday, he plays world no. 1 Jannik Sinner.

Chess Championship

Two More Grandmasters for Kazakhstan, an Emerging Chess Power

A 14-year-old boy from Kazakhstan is awaiting confirmation that he is the country’s youngest chess grandmaster after he improved his rating at a tournament in the United Arab Emirates this month. Also, a 21-year-old woman is poised to become Kazakhstan’s second female grandmaster after the same contest. The international results come as Kazakhstan pushes to develop homegrown chess talent and impart intellectual skills to young people, introducing chess into the curricula of hundreds of schools, training chess teachers and even supporting chess federations in some Asian countries, including Oman, Nepal, Cambodia, Jordan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. “Trainers, methods, equipment for chess classes - all this has become an export product of Kazakhstan,” the Kazakhstan Chess Federation said Wednesday as its congress of 50 delegates met in Astana to review 2024 accomplishments and plan for the future. Kazakhstani player Edgar Mamedov, who turns 15 on June 18, achieved a rating of more than 2500 because of his results at the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship, according to the federation. The 2500 rating is one of the requirements to secure the grandmaster title. “All that remains is to wait for the official confirmation of the title,” it said. Confirmation would come at the next meeting of the presidential council of FIDE, the Switzerland-based governing body of chess. The last meeting was held in April. A 16-year-old player from Kazakhstan, Aldiyar Ansat, was close to grandmaster status at the start of the year and was touted as the frontrunner to become the Central Asian nation’s youngest GM. But Mamedov got there first. The tournament in Sharjah also featured a woman from Kazakhstan who secured the grandmaster rating after a strong performance. Like Mamedov, Bibisara Asaubayeva is awaiting official confirmation that she has the title. She will be Kazakhstan’s second female grandmaster after Zhansaya Abdumalik. Asaubayeva had the best result among women in Sharjah, beating Chinese player Zhu Jiner, the winner of the Women's Grand Prix of the 2024–25 season, by one point, and Divya Deshmukh, the winner of the 2024 Chess Olympiad as part of the Indian team, by one and a half points, according to Kazakh chess officials. “Finally, GM,” Asaubayeva wrote on Instagram after she got the grandmaster rating. She added a smiling emoji with sunglasses. Kazakhstan currently has nine confirmed and active grandmasters, according to FIDE. One of them, Rinat Dzhumabayev, also participated in the May 17-25 contest in Sharjah. A total of 64 grandmasters and 17 international masters competed. Player Nurassyl Primbetov, born in Kazakhstan in 2013, played the match of his life at a tournament in Astana last year. The young boy lost to former child prodigy and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Reflecting on his country’s chess accomplishments, Timur Turlov, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, said the federation organized 92 tournaments in 2024, a threefold increase compared to the previous year. Chess players from Kazakhstan won 160 medals, including 55 gold, in 2024, Turlov said in a January post on the Medium platform. “Chess plays...

Sports

Turkmenistan’s Arkadag Footballers Left Without Prize Money Despite AFC Victory

The recent triumph of Turkmenistan’s Arkadag football club in the AFC Challenge League, one of Asia’s most prestigious club competitions, has stirred controversy beyond the pitch. While the victory was widely celebrated, players were left without significant financial rewards, as over $1 million in prize money was donated to charity, prompting mixed reactions among fans and observers. The team was honored with a hero’s welcome in the newly constructed city of Arkadag, complete with fireworks and a celebratory parade. However, expectations of substantial bonuses went unmet. Each player received a symbolic $1,000 from President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, a modest sum compared to their tournament earnings. The total prize purse for winning the competition and reaching the final reportedly exceeded $1.5 million. According to official statements, the athletes themselves requested that the funds be donated to the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Children. Despite their international success, the players reportedly earn official salaries of no more than $120 per month. Turkmen football remains largely cut off from global sporting networks, with few foreign players, limited match broadcasts, and minimal competitive depth in domestic leagues. Arkadag’s main rivals frequently field incomplete squads, diminishing the overall level of competition. Sports analysts and development experts warn that the lack of meaningful financial incentives could erode player morale and hinder the growth of football in Turkmenistan. They argue that while charitable contributions are commendable, sustained investment in athletes is essential to build a competitive and inspiring national sports culture.