Dogs, riding horses. (gazeta.uz, 11 Jun 2020; Athlete, 22 Sep 2019)

Coaching - Uzbek State University of Physical Education, Chirchiq, UZB

Husband Bakhodir Kurbanov, son Alisher [1999]

English, German, Russian

Her husband Bakhodir Kurbanov represented Uzbekistan in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. (tokyo2020.org, 21 Feb 2021)

She was suffering from a foot and ankle injury at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Republic of Korea, and decided not to compete in the all-around competition. (ndtv.com, 25 Sep 2014; insidethegames.biz, 24 Sep 2014)

She had an operation on her shoulder in 2008 and required back surgery in January 2009. (gymmedia.de, 17 Jan 2009)

She tore her Achilles tendon at the 2008 Swiss Cup in Zurich, Switzerland. (intlgymnast.com, 02 Nov 2008)

She sustained a leg injury ahead of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, which meant she was only able to compete on vault. (Gymnastica, 27 Oct 2005)

She took up gymnastics at age seven in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (Athlete, 22 Sep 2019; Asiad Daily, 26 Sep 2014)

She followed her older brother into the sport. "My mother did not want me to do gymnastics, she was worried about me all the time. I wanted to prove to her that I was not doing it in vain, and I think that eventually I succeeded in that." (gazeta.uz, 11 Jun 2020; Athlete, 22 Sep 2019)

She became the first gymnast to have appeared at eight editions of the Olympic Games when she competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (eureporter.co, 15 Aug 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 27 Sep 2021)

At age 43 years and 65 days she became the oldest athlete to have won a medal in artistic gymnastics at the Asian Games when she claimed silver on vault at the 2018 Games in Indonesia. (SportsDeskOnline, 24 Sep 2019)

"I never look back. Everything that has been has passed. I only live in the present. I like to look only forward." (argumenti.ru, 17 Jun 2020)

In 2020 she was named the Best Athlete of Decade [2011-2020] in Uzbekistan by the public vote held by the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan. (olympic.uz, 24 Aug 2020)

She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in May 2017. (intlgymnast.com, 21 May 2017)

She holds the title of Honoured Athlete in Uzbekistan. (olympic.uz, 24 Aug 2020)

General
RETIREMENT
She announced her retirement after competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "Many thought that I started crying because I didn't make the final [at the 2020 Games] but those were joyful tears because so many people support me. My tears weren't because of the results. I was emotional because it's all over. You know, I've been preparing for this but, turns out, you can't fully prepare. When you say goodbye to the sport, it's sad and it's a pity. I just really love gymnastics, I just enjoy doing it. There's no secret. I have so much to do now. First of all, I'll work as a wife for a bit, I'll take care of my son, he's starting university. Second, I'm opening a gym in Tashkent and will work on bringing the youth to do sports. It won't be just artistic gymnastics there, I just want to bring as many kids and youth as possible to do sports." (gazeta.uz, 13 Aug 2021; gymnovosti.com, 26 Jul 2021)

CAREER
Born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, she made her international debut for the Soviet Union. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, she represented the Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS] at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and later began competing for Uzbekistan. In 2002 her son Alisher was diagnosed with leukaemia, so her family moved to Germany where he could receive treatment. She obtained German citizenship in 2006, winning a silver medal for her adopted nation at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She returned to compete for Uzbekistan in 2013, having been given special dispensation by the executive committee of the International Gymnastics Federation [FIG]. (heraldscotland.com, 16 Oct 2015; uznews.net, 06 Mar 2013)

ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE
In October 2017 she was elected as the women's artistic gymnastics representative for the International Gymnastics Federation [FIG] Athletes' Commission. (gymnovosti.com, 06 Oct 2017)