Tajikistan NOC secures 17 athlete scholarships for Paris 2024

The IOC’s Olympic Solidarity Commission has approved the applications of 17 Tajik athletes from six sports for financial support for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Nominations of athletes were submitted by the executive committee of the National Olympic Committee of Tajikistan in October 2021 on the proposal of the individual National Sports Federations in the country.

The International Olympic Committee agreed to fund 17 athletes from January 1, 2022 to August 31, 2024.

Under the ‘Olympic Financial Support Programme – Paris 2024’, the Tajikistan NOC will receive a monthly stipend of US$7,500 which will be split among the 17 athletes who will attempt to qualify for the 2024 showpiece. The money will be used for training and participating in Olympic qualifying competitions.

The NOC at a meeting held last Friday, April 8, and attended by Vice President Dilshod Nazarov, Secretary General Abdullozoda Muhammadsho, athletes, coaches and representatives of the six National Federations, explained the essence of the Olympic Solidarity funding with athletes being paid every quarter.

It was also noted that if an athlete failed to qualify or did not submit financial and technical reports within the period of the Olympic qualifying system, funding would be stopped.

The 17 athletes to secure funding come from six sports: boxing (five athletes), canoe (1), judo (5), swimming (1), taekwondo (3) and wrestling (2).

Among the athletes are boxers Bakhodur Usmonov and Shabbos Negmatulloev, and judokas Temur Rakhimov and Somon Mahmadbekov, all of whom competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.