After Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, it created national teams for various sports, including football (soccer), basketball, and ice hockey and has also sent contingents to the Olympic Games. Football is one of the country’s most popular sports, featuring a structured domestic league system. The national team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time in its history. Uzbekistan made its Olympic debut as an independent country at the 1994 Winter Games, and won 13 medals (8 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze) at the Paris Summer Olympics 2024. The country’s government also promotes traditional sports, such as the national wrestling style of kurash, globally.
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