Turkmenistan: Build Athletes, Not Stadiums · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

My countrymen appreciate the new [sports] infrastructure…, but they generally feel that what really needs to be built aren’t facilities, but actual athletes.
Annasoltan on NewEurasia.net suggests that instead of building lavish stadiums and gyms,Turkmenistan should focus on training athletes that would be able to win international competitions. Yet, she explains why this is not likely to happen:
…I suspect that developing real athletes would risk drawing attention away from our supernatural president – martial artists, horseback rider and race car driver par excellence.