Alisher Azimov: National hockey team of Uzbekistan should participate in the selection for the World Cup – 2020

The founder and head coach of the hockey club “Binokor” Alisher Azimov spoke about the start of the country's first national hockey championship, Kun.uz correspondent reports.

Four clubs are participating in the tournament: “Tashkent”, “Binokor”, “Humo” and “Semurg”.

According to Azimov, young professional Russian players play in each team, they are invited to strengthen the league. At the same time, the team “Binokor” participates with its own 7 trainees.

“There is no expansion plan yet, but this is the only start, the first season. Of course, by the next year, we will think about increasing the number of clubs in the championship,” Azimov added.

All teams will have 4 laps of 6 games, 3 of which are home games and 3 – away matches. Then, participants of the championship are expected to have a series of playoffs up to three victories.

The games are held on the ice arena Ice City. Mr. Azimov noted that Tashkent residents are very interested in hockey: in the first match of the championship, there were so many people who wanted to see the game that the audience even stood along the boards. However, the issues of ticket sales and order of admitting the audience are not yet fully resolved.

In the first match of the championship between “Tashkent” and “Binokor”, a right-wing attacker of the USSR national team Sergei Makarov and the youngest hockey player of Uzbekistan, who was only 2 years old in December 2018, made a symbolic throw-in.

“Now we have to declare to the International Hockey Federation so that the national team of Uzbekistan could participate in the qualifying tournament of the World Hockey Championship – 2020,” Azimov told about plans to develop this sport in the republic.

After two rounds, the Uzbekistan hockey championship standings are headed by the club “Semurg” with two victories, but then again the players of “Binokor” lost in both matches and became outsiders of the championship.

Matches of the third round will be held on February 15.