Uzbekistan hadn’t hosted a single hockey game in over three decades until 2019, but is now home to some of the best hockey teams in Asia at both national and club level.

Hockey was once a very popular sport in Uzbekistan in the 70s and 80s and was very well-known on the international stage thanks to the talent of Uzbek players in the USSR team.

For example, Alexander Fillippov was one of the greatest Uzbek hockey players ever and was a standout D-man in the 1975 Soviet team.

After Uzbekistan declared independence from the USSR in 1991, a new Uzbek national team was never set up and rinks across the country were eventually destroyed and forgotten.

It took 27 years before any action was taken on the Uzbek hockey scene as in 2018 the Uzbek Ice Hockey Federation was established.

Abdumajid Nasirov, a former player in Uzbekistan was a major catalyst in the country’s return to hockey.

When the Hockey Federation was set up and a new national rink, the Humo Arena, was built in the national capital, Tashkent, Nasirov returned to the ice to coach a junior team.

Jasurbek Rustamkhonov was the star of the side when they went to Mongolia to compete in their first ever international competition at the U18 Asia and Oceania Championships as he recorded 14 goals in five games.

Uzbekistan cruised through the competition, battering Turkmenistan in their opening game 5-0 before bulldozing past Iran with an eyewatering scoreline of 14-1.

They were crowned champions with a game to spare after defeating Thailand 10-2 and went on to finish off the tournament with a 44-8 total goal difference.

Uzbekistan had cruised through the championship and claimed gold in their first ever appearance on the international stage. Now, the national team has set their sights on competing in the 2025 World Hockey Championships across multiple age groups.

The Uzbek senior team also made their return to play this year, as they competed in the 2023 Kazan Cup, a non-competitive, Russian tournament that celebrates the Islamic hockey community. Uzbekistan picked up 3 wins and one loss in the tournament, including a 17-0 win over Bahrain.