Athletic Day in Tajikistan Date in the current year: August 10, 2024

The history of organized sports in Tajikistan began in 1925, when the military sports club of the garrison stationed in Dushanbe began inviting military athletes from neighboring cities to friendly sports competitions.

The first stadium in Dushanbe, Spartak, was built in 1930. The Dynamo stadium was commissioned two years later. The foundation of the Central Republican Stadium was laid in 1939, but its commissioning was delayed due to World War II. The stadium was finally opened in 1946, but it took until 1962 to finish the construction. The CSKA stadium was built and opened in 1961. The Federation for the Promotional of Physical Culture and Sports of the Tajik USSR was founded a year later.

Tajik athletes participated in the Olympic Games as part of the USSR national team since 1952. After the collapse of the USSR, athletes from Tajikistan were part of the Unified Team in 1992; in 1996, Tajikistan debuted at the Summer Olympics as an independent state. As of 2021, athletes from Tajikistan have won four Olympic medals:

• Yusup Abdusalomov’s gold in men’s 84 kg freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
• Rasul Boqiev’s bronze in men’s 73 kg judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
• Mavzuna Chorieva’s bronze in women’s lightweight boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London
• Dilshod Nazarov’s gold in men’s hammer throw at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

Wrestling is the most popular sport in Tajikistan. It includes gushtigiri, a form of traditional Tajik wrestling considered the national sport of Tajikistan, as well as sambo, judo, freestyle wrestling, and taekwondo.

Athletic Day was first celebrated in Tajikistan back when the country was part of the Soviet Union. The All-Union Athletic Day was officially established in 1939 to promote fitness and recreational sports. At first, the event was held on a different date every year, but in 1961 its date was fixed on the second Saturday in August.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some former Soviet republics continued to celebrate Athletic Day on the second Saturday of August, some renamed it and/or moved it to another date, and some canceled the celebration altogether. For example, Russia belongs to the first category, while Tajikistan continued to celebrate Athletic Day in August but moved it to a fixed date, August 10.

As we’ve already mentioned above, Athletic Day in Tajikistan is a holiday for everyone who loves fitness and sports. It is celebrated by professional athletes and coaches, school physical education teachers and sports coaches, gym and fitness trainers, amateur and recreational athletes, etc. The holiday is marked by sports competitions and demonstrations, workshops, and other events and activities for fitness enthusiasts held throughout the country.