DUSHANBE, May 5, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik young freestyle wrestler Bahodur Qodirov qualified for I Summer Youth Olympic Games finishing first in -63 kg category in the Asian Youth Freestyle Wresting Championships that took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from April 30 to May 2 this year, according to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Tajikistan.

Four Tajik wrestlers participated in the Asian Youth Freestyle Wresting Championships in Tashkent.  “Bahodur Qodirov won gold medal in -63 category defeating wrestlers from Thailand, Iran, Japan and Kazakhstan,” said the NOC source, “Another Tajik athlete, Salim Khojayev, grabbed bronze medal for Tajikistan, finishing third in the 76 kilogram 84 competition in Tashkent.  In the semifinal, Salim lost to the Uzbek wrestler.”

In all, wrestlers from 20 countries participated in the Asian Youth Freestyle Wresting Championships in Tashkent and all gold medalists qualified for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games.

The 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games (officially known as I Summer Youth Olympic Games) is the inaugural event of the Summer Youth Olympics, a major international sports and cultural festival to be celebrated in the tradition of the Summer Olympic Games from August 14-26 2010, during the XXIX Olympiad.  The Games will be held in Singapore, in a decision announced on February 21 2008 after mail voting by 105 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  More than 3,500 athletes will participate in Youth Olympic Games (YOG).  The YOG will feature 26 sports, forming a total of 31 disciplines.