BISHKEK, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The just-concluded Paris Olympics was successful and productive in the history of Kyrgyzstan, said Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov here on Tuesday.
Speaking at a ceremony of honoring members of the Olympic team in Bishkek, Japarov said that for the first time in the history of independent Kyrgyzstan, athletes won six medals at the Olympics in Paris -- two silver and four bronze medals.
"More than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries and regions took part in the competition, and among them, Kyrgyzstan, represented by 16 athletes, took 68th place. Moreover, six of our 16 athletes returned home with awards, and in terms of the ratio of the number of medals to the number of participants, Kyrgyzstan took first place," Japarov said.
The Kyrgyz athletes who won Olympic silver medals were awarded 10 million soms (about 117,000 U.S. dollars), and the bronze medalists 7 million soms (about 82,000 dollars). In addition, the athletes who took 5th place received a cash reward of 1 million soms (about 12,000 dollars) and other participants in the Games received about 0.5 million soms (about 6,000 dollars).
Since gaining independence, Kyrgyzstan has participated in eight Summer Olympic Games and won a total of 5 silver and 8 bronze medals. ■
