Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which are colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as the countries all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of".
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organization established by China and Russia in 2001. It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the area of Eurasia, 40% of the world population. As of 2021, its combined GDP was around 20% of global GDP.
The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organisation under the United Nations Charter. The objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ECO expanded to include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in 1992.
The 1994 Asian Games, also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games, were held from October 2 to 16, 1994, in Hiroshima, Japan. The main theme of this edition was to promote peace and harmony among Asian nations. It was emphasized by the host because the venue was the site of the first atomic bomb attack 49 years earlier. Due to the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq was suspended from the games. The games debuted former republics of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The 3rd Asian Winter Games were held from February 4 to 11, 1996 in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. North Korea's Samjiyon was the original host for the games scheduled in 1995, but withdrew in August 1992. After the withdrawal, South Korea and then China submitted bids respectively. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) decided to elect the host cities for these 3rd games and the next 4th games simultaneously. On December 2, 1993, The OCA announced that the 3rd games would be held in China in 1996 and the 4th games would be held in South Korea in 1999.
The Asian Beach Games, also known as ABG, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The Games are described as the second or third largest Asian multi-sport event, after the Asian Games. Its popularity is increasing due to the low cost of temporary venues, with beaches and oceans already available, while spectators and tourists are also already available in sand and sea tourist areas.
The third Asian Beach Games were held in Haiyang, China in 2012.
The Central Asian Union (CAU), later called the Central Asian Economic Union, was an intergovernmental organisation for economic integration between the Central Asian post-Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan between 1994 and 2004. Tajikistan joined the Union in 1996 as an observer. Several proposals to restore the Union have been put forward since its dissolution.
The 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, officially 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and also known as Incheon 2013, was a pan-continental event held in Incheon, South Korea from 29 June to 6 July 2013 that served as a dress-rehearsal for the upcoming 2014 Asian Games, which was also held in the same city. It was the first event to be held under the "Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games" name following the merger of two OCA events – Asian Indoor Games and Asian Martial Arts Games, inherited the edition numeral of the former. Doha, Qatar was initially scheduled to host the 4th Asian Indoor Games in 2011, but withdrawn in June 2008 due to "unforeseen circumstances", with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chose Incheon instead as a replacement and postponed the games to 2013.
2009 Asian Martial Arts Games, the 1st and only Asian Martial Arts Games in history were a pancontinential martial arts multi-sport event held in Bangkok, Thailand from 1 to 9 August 2009 with 9 events contested. Due to Political crisis in Thailand And 2009 Swine Flu, the Bangkok Asian Martial Arts Games Organizing Committee (BAMAGOC) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Thailand decided that Asian Martial Arts Games moved from the original schedule of 25 April to 3 May to 1 to 9 August. Four years later, the event merged with another Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) event – Asian Indoor Games to form the larger Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. It is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and consists of Indoor and martial arts events with TV broadcasting potential, some of which were not contested at the Asian Games and Asian Winter Games Programs and are not Olympic sports.
The 1999 Central Asian Games also known as the 3rd Central Asian Games were held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Armenians in Central Asian states: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, were mainly settled there during the Soviet era for various reasons.
The Asian Football Confederation's Pre-Olympic Tournament was held from 3 April 1999 to 13 November 1999. Thirty-five teams entered the qualification for the three allocated spots for the 2000 Summer Olympics Football tournament in Sydney.
International Federation of Amateur SAMBO is the world governing body for the sport of Sambo.
Weightlifting at the 2018 Asian Games was held at the Jakarta International Expo Hall A, Jakarta, Indonesia, from 20 to 27 August 2018.
The Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan border is the border between the countries of the Republic of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. At 1,793 km, it is Turkmenistan's longest border and Uzbekistan's second longest. The border runs from the tripoint with Kazakhstan to the tripoint with Afghanistan.
The Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border is 2,330 km (1,450 mi) long and runs from the tripoint with Turkmenistan to the tripoint with Kyrgyzstan. It is Uzbekistan's longest external boundary. The Uzbek capital Tashkent is situated just 13 km (8.1 mi) from this border.
The Tajikistan–Uzbekistan border is an international border between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is 1,312 kilometres (815 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Kyrgyzstan to the tripoint with Afghanistan.
Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Olympic Committee; AFG)
Chinese Taipei (Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee; TPE)1
Iran (National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran; IRI)
Kazakhstan (National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan; KAZ)
Kyrgyzstan (National Olympic Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic; KGZ)
Tajikistan (National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan; TJK)
Turkmenistan (National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan; TKM)
Uzbekistan (National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan; UZB)
