Turkmenistan International Sports Media Forum -- Photodesk

(ATR) Ashgabat hopes to be a name on the Olympic bid circuit in years to come.

The Turkmenistan capital is starting to focus on an Olympic bid, amid preparations for the 2017 Asian and Indoor Martial Arts Games. The city was awarded the games in 2010, and venue construction is underway, with many structures already complete years in advance. The Olympic Council of Asia will also hold their annual general assembly in Ashgabat this October.

It is also expected that Ashgabat will bid for an Asian Games. The next edition the country will be eligible to host is 2023.

"Our esteemed president has the objective to start with the Asian Games and then expand," AIGMAG 2017 chairman Dayanch Gulgeldiev said in the Turkmenistan International Sports Media Forum held last week.

"When he has had the field trip he mentioned that we should be ready for higher-level competition. They include the participation of bidding for the Olympic Games."

The Turkmenistan Olympic Committee is powerless without the approval of the country’s president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who decides when Turkmenistan will bid to host the Olympic Games. Berdimuhamedow has omnipresence in the country, which is routinely rated one of the worse in the world in terms of freedoms and personal liberties. Entrance is very restricted,and tourist visas are hard to come by.

Last week, over 30 members of the media traveled to Ashgabat for the Sports Media Forum and a preview of the city's plans to host the 2017 AIMAG. The trip included VIP access to the Asiada conference, one of the only press conferences ever held by high-ranking Turkmenistan officials. A wide range of topics were covered, including the future of sport, Olympic Agenda 2020,the legacy left by Sochi 2014, and social media in sport.

During the press conference, Turkmenistan made it know that it is joining a growing list of countries using sport to launch themselves onto world stage. However, there’s a lack of sport in the country, as demonstrated by the ten athletes Turkmenistan sent to compete in London 2012.

When asked for comment on the matter, TOC Secretary General Azat Muradov mentioned that "we are working on it [athlete development]."

"This year, our dream will come true and we are hoping."

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Written by Andrew Murrell. Photos by Ed Hula III

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