Turkmenistan's leader not happy with lack of Olympic medals

Neutral Turkmenistan quoted Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as saying competing athletes had betrayed "the trust of the motherland."

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (C) waves to the media during the starting ceremony of a 500-day nationwide horse race at the historical site of Nisa just outside Ashgabat on May 5, 2016 in preparation for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Ar 

ASHGABAT: The authoritarian leader of Turkmenistan has criticized sports officials and athletes after the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation failed to win any medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

State newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan on Tuesday quoted Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as saying competing athletes had betrayed "the trust of the motherland."

Turkmenistan has never won any Olympic medals, but the fitness-loving Berdymukhamedov likes to cast the energy-rich country as a haven for sports enthusiasts.

In April, state employees were coerced into performing pre-work, open-air fitness exercises as part of an annual month-long drive to boost healthy lifestyles. Berdymukhamedov is regularly shown on television playing sports and, on occasion, winning horse races.

Turkmenistan was represented in Rio by nine athletes across five disciplines.