DUSHANBE, August 6, 2010, Asia-Plus -- Freestyle wrestler Bahodur Qodirov has been favored to bear Tajikistan’s national flag at the opening ceremony of the I Summer Youth Olympic Games that will take place in Singapore from August 14-26 this year.

The head of the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs, Maliksho Nematov, remarked this at a news conference in Dushanbe on August 6.

According to him, six best young athletes have been competitively selected to represent Tajikistan in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.   Among them are Bahodur Qodirov (free-style wrestling), Abduqodir Barotov (hummer throwing), Christina Zayniddinova (archery), Shukrona Shukurova (taekwon-do WTF), D. Atabayev (200-meter race), and Siyovoush Zuhurov (boxing).

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.  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.

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are planned to be an international multi-sport event held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format.   The Youth Olympic Games will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.   The summer version will last twelve days, with the first event taking place in August 2010; the winter version will last a maximum of nine days, with the first edition taking place in early 2012.  The IOC will allow a maximum of 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the summer games, while 970 athletes and 580 officials are expected at the winter games.