Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Uzbekistan’s Dostonbek Khamdamov was presented with the AFC Youth Player of the Year Award on Wednesday after his nation’s AFC U23 Championship match with Korea Republic in Doha, Qatar.
Khamdamov was named the AFC Youth Player of the Year 2015 (Men) following his outstanding exploits for Uzbekistan during FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015.
Saoud Al Mohannadi, AFC Vice President and Chairman of the AFC Competitions Committee, presented the award to Khamdamov at the post-match press conference following Uzbekistan's 2-1 defeat to the Koreans. He said: “Asian football is blessed with some outstanding young talent who have proved themselves on the world stage.
‘’That Dostonbek Khamdamov was chosen for this award demonstrates the high level of his performances in what was an exceptional 2015. I am sure that we will see much more of him on the Asian and world stage in years to come.”
The 19-year-old midfielder scored a goal in his country’s group stage outing against Honduras at New Zealand 2015 before Uzbekistan advanced to the Round of 16 where the Bunyodkor man impressed by scoring a brace - including a second-half stoppage-time goal - as they beat Austria 2-0 in Whangarei to take his side through to the quarter-finals.
Khamdamov finished the tournament as the third leading scorer with three goals to his name, an achievement he shared with Germany’s Niklas Stark.