Uzbekistan's Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Husain Al-Musallam, director general of the Olympic Council of Asia, and officials from the International Olympic Committee were among those to attend the event held at the Palace of International Forums in Uzbek capital Tashkent.

A congratulatory message from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev was read out by spokesperson Sherzod Asadov to start the ceremony before a video was played showcasing the activities of the National Olympic Committee.

A series of awards were then handed out to athletes and organisations following nominations for their contribution to Uzbek sport over the past 30 years.

Armen Bagdasarov was among those to receive an award after making history at Atlanta 1996 by winning Uzbekistan’s first Olympic medal with judo silver.

Ulugbek Rashitov was recognised for becoming the country’s youngest Olympic champion when he struck taekwondo gold at Tokyo 2020, aged just 19.

Judoka Rishod Sobirov was celebrated for being the holder of the most Olympic medals with bronzes achieved at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Footballer Mirjalol Kasimov was named Uzbekistan’s best athlete in the past 10 years, followed by judoka Abdullo Tangriev and gymnast age-defying gymnast Oksana Chusovitina.

National Federations for boxing, weightlifting, football and wrestling were awarded prizes, while boxing coach Marat Kurbanov was also recognised.

Uzbekistan first competed at the Olympics as an independent nation following the collapse of the Soviet Union at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Games.

Since then, Uzbekistan has participated at every Summer and Winter edition of the Olympic Games, winning 11 gold medal, six silver and 20 bronze to rank 55th in the overall medals table.