Turkmen minister told off over poor Olympic results

Turkmenistan's sports minister has been given a stinging rebuke by the president for the poor performance of the reclusive Central Asian state's six athletes at the Olympics in Paris.

"On the orders of President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the president of the Turkmen state committee for physical education and sports has been severely reprimanded," state television said on Thursday.

It showed images of people exercising at a sports facility on the Caspian Sea shore.

"All the right conditions are there" for Turkmens to excel in sports, it said.

Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic rich in natural resources, is one of the most closed countries in the world.

At the start of the Olympic Games last month, the president ordered his country's athletes "to raise as high as possible the international authority of Turkmen sport".

Serdar Berdymukhamedov took over as president in 2022 after the resignation of his father Gurbanguly, who instituted a major personality cult after coming to power in 2006.

The government has invested heavily in sport but results have been disappointing.

The country's next chance at a medal in Paris is for a weightlifting competition on Saturday.

Since independence in 1991, Turkmenistan has only won one Olympic medal. It took silver in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.