Intro:

Reclusive Turkmenistan's Olympic dream to begin with the hosting of the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

Script:

It's a multi-billion dollar coming out party for one of the world's most reclusive nations.

Tiny Turkmenistan in central Asia has big plans to use sport to open the country up to the world.

This massive Olympic sports city project in the capital Ashgabat, costing over five billion dollars (USD), will be the centrepiece when Turkmenistan hosts the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

They'll be the first international sporting event to be hosted by Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic that gained independence in 1991.

The sport city complex features the worlds largest velodrome, a main stadium and a host of other venues which will welcome an expected 200,000 spectators, 6,500 athletes and 2,500 media in 2017.

But Turkmenistan is already thinking much bigger, with plans to bid for a future Asian Games then the ultimate prize...the Summer Olympics.

Rich on revenues from its oil and gas reserves, Turkmenistan is hoping to emulate other parts of the former Soviet Union like 2015 European Games host

Azerbaijan and use sport to increase its international standing.

However, current president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow looms large here, with his photos and images dotting a capital full of new buildings and monuments built in a Stalinist-style reminiscent of North Korea.

An avid sportsman, Berdimuhamedow is also the man behind Turkmenistan's sporting push.

But like his predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov, the first president of Turkmenistan and the leader who set the nation on its autocractic path, he has punished dissent, stifled freedom of speech and placed strict controls on the media.

With more exposure, Turkmenistan knows it will ultimately have to answer some uncomfortable questions about its record on human rights and democracy.

Change will also have to come on the field if Turkmenistan is to be taken seriously as a major player in sport.