Footballers of "Arkadag" beat Balkanabat "Nebitchi" with a score of 1:0 in the away match of the 7th round of the championship of Turkmenistan among clubs of the Higher League.

The goal in the 77th minute of the match was scored by Didar Durdyev.

"Arkadag" rose to fourth place in the standings of the championship of Turkmenistan, having scored 9 points in three matches. "Nebitchi" with 8 points in seven matches is in fifth place.

The rival of the Turkmen "Arkadag" in the AFC Challenge League finals will be the Cambodian club "Svai Rieng" from the city of the same name in the south-east of the country, the correspondent of Turkmenportal reports.

On Thursday evening, in the second semi-final match of the tournament, the Cambodian team drew with Indonesian Madura United (3-3), but reached the final thanks to a 3-0 home victory.

Arkadag defeated Kuwait's Al-Arabi 3-0 in the second leg of the 1/2 final of the Challenge League on Wednesday.

The final of the tournament will be held on May 10 at the Svai Rieng Stadium, the game will start at 17:00 Ashgabat time.

Anna Charyeva and Jahan Rejepova brought Turkmenistan two bronze medals at the World Junior Rapid Chess Championship, which was held from April 13 to 15 in the Greek city of Rhodes, the press service of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan reports.

In the U8 girls category, Anna Charyeva scored 8 points out of 11 possible, losing only to the champion from Kazakhstan, Alisha Bissalieva, and the silver medalist from India, Anvi Diipak.

Jahan Rejepova, competing in the U16 girls category, also scored 8 points. In the second round, she defeated the future tournament champion, Elnaz Kaliakhmet from Kazakhstan, and was leading after five rounds. Despite losses in the sixth and seventh rounds, Jahan managed to pull herself together and finish in the top three.

Other Turkmen chess players also showed decent results. Leyla Shokhradova in the U18 girls category took fifth place, losing the bronze medal only due to additional indicators. Nurana Soyunova in the U12 girls category finished the tournament in seventh place.

The performance of 6-year-old Hangeldy Muradov, the youngest participant out of all 433 athletes from 48 countries, deserves special attention. In the U8 boys category, he scored 6.5 points out of 11 possible and took 12th place among 48 participants.

On April 16, a blitz tournament started in Rhodes, where Turkmen chess players have a good chance to repeat or improve their results.

Turkmen Arkadag defeated Kuwaiti Al-Arabi in the return semi-final match of the AFC Challenge League.

The match took place at the stadium in the city of Arkadag and ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of the hosts. Shanazar Tirkishov scored a double for the winners (7th and 90+4th minutes), and Altymurad Annadurdiyev (58) scored another goal.

In the first match, which took place on April 9 in Kuwait City, Vladimir Bayramov’s team lost with a score of 0:2.

Based on the sum of the two matches, Arkadag reached the final of the AFC Challenge League.

The tournament final will be held on May 10, Arkadag’s opponent will be determined on April 17 in the match between Preah Khan Rich Svay Rieng (Cambodia) and Madura United (Indonesia).

The United Nations Friendship Games 2025 have commenced at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York.

This event marks the beginning of a large-scale sporting initiative, conducted by the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the UN within the framework of the proclamation of 2025 as the "International Year of Peace and Trust" in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 78/325, entitled "United Nations Friendship Games".

The Games have brought together diplomatic missions in New York, staff members of the UN Secretariat and specialized agencies. This year the Games gathered over 800 participants from 110 countries worldwide.

On the very first day of competition, participants in the group matches of the football tournament demonstrated a high level of team spirit, fair play, and an atmosphere of sports diplomacy.

On April 9th, competitions in yoga, chess, and running were held. On the North Lawn of UN Headquarters, representatives from various countries and institutions competed in intellectual and physical disciplines, underscoring the main objective of the Games – the strengthening of peace and trust.

On April 13th, spectators observed the badminton tournament.
The Games will continue until mid-May with upcoming competitions in basketball, tennis, volleyball, and table tennis. The Games will conclude with a celebratory Closing Ceremony and the awarding of prizes to the winners.

Information regarding the United Nations Friendship Games is available on the official website of the Games.

The Turkmenistan National Sambo Team successfully performed on the first day of the Asia-Oceania Championships, which started in Tashkent. Turkmen athletes added six medals to their team's collection: two silver and four bronze, the publication "Turkmenistan: Golden Age" reports.

The prestigious continental competitions brought together more than 600 athletes from 23 countries in the region. The tournament covers all age categories - from cadets to veterans, and participants compete in the disciplines of sport and combat sambo among men and women, as well as in sambo among visually impaired athletes in the SVI-1 (totally blind) and SVI-2 (visually impaired) classes.

Mukhammetmyrat Babekov won silver medals in sport sambo (weight category up to 58 kg) and Bezirgen Begendzhov in combat sambo (up to 98 kg) for the Turkmen team.

On his way to the final, Babekov confidently fought in the quarterfinal against Mongolian sambo wrestler Munkhbat Genendaram (2:1) and the semifinal against Kyrgyzstan's Kimal Obolbekov (2:1). In the decisive fight, the Turkmen athlete lost to the tournament host Ilkhom Parmonov from Uzbekistan with a score of 3:5.

Begendzhov won a convincing victory over Kyrgyzstan's Bekbolsun Kerimbekov (8:0) in the semifinal, but in the final he was unable to withstand Kazakhstan's Raikhan Madi, losing with a score of 1:4.

Bronze medals for the Turkmen team were brought by the representative of men's sport sambo Sapar Dovletov (up to 64 kg) and the women's part of the team: Aziza Nazarova (up to 50 kg), Zuleikha Khudaiberdiyeva (up to 54 kg) and Merzhen Dzhoraeva (up to 59 kg).

Dovletov started the tournament with a confident victory over Mohammed Albaker Algarrawi (10:0), then in the semi-finals he lost to the future champion Zhandos Beisenbayev from Kazakhstan (0:6), but in the fight for bronze he defeated South Korean sambo wrestler Lee Syngang with a score of 2:0. Nazarova, Khudaiberdiyeva and Dzhoraeva stopped at the semi-final stage, taking third place in their weight categories.

The coaching staff and players of the Turkmen Arkadag are determined to turn the tide in the return semi-final match of the AFC Challenge League against Kuwaiti Al-Arabi, despite the unsuccessful outcome of the first meeting. To reach the final, the hosts need to win with a difference of three goals or more, reports a Turkmenportal correspondent.

“The first match did not turn out the way we expected, but the confrontation consists of two games, so we expect to turn the tide in tomorrow’s match,” said Arkadag head coach Akhmed Allaberdiyev at a pre-match press conference.

According to the coach, the team is approaching the decisive match in an optimal lineup, with the exception of Resul Khodjaev, who was injured while playing for the national team. The coach noted that the club has high-level players who will take to the field with one goal – to win.

Arkadag defender Guychmurad Annakuliyev confirmed the team's fighting spirit: "We are in a good mood, the fighting spirit is high. Our task is very clear - we only need a victory tomorrow." According to the footballer, the key to success will be "cohesion and team play."

The fans should play a special role in the upcoming match. "The match will be held with the support of the home stands, serious support is expected. We thank our fans for believing in the team and we will try to justify their trust," Allaberdiyev emphasized.

The return match of the 1/2 finals of the AFC Challenge League will take place on Wednesday, April 16. The match starts at 15:30 Ashgabat time.

Let us remind you that in the first semi-final match, Arkadag lost away with a score of 0:2.

President of the Turkmenistan National Electronic Sports Federation (TMESF) Mekan Eyeberdyev joined the board of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) and was also elected vice-president of the Central Asian Esports Association. This was reported by TMESF.

The elections took place during the First Elective General Assembly of the AESF, held online. The event was attended by the heads of national esports federations of Asian countries, as well as Deputy Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Vinod Tiwari.

In addition, in February 2025, the Central Asian Esports Association was officially established to coordinate the efforts of countries in the region to develop digital sports. Following the elections in this organization, TMESF Secretary General Nazar Udeumuradov was appointed to the position of Secretary General of the Association.

According to TMESF, these appointments reflect the strengthening of Turkmenistan’s position in the international esports community and open up new prospects for cooperation, exchange of experience and development of sports initiatives at both the regional and pan-Asian levels.

Football club "Akhal" won a confident victory over "Merv" in the match of the 6th round of the Turkmenistan Football Championship. The match was held at the stadium "Kopetdag" in Ashgabat and ended with a score of 3:0.

The goals of "Merv" were scored by Dayanch Meredov (50th minute), Ibrahim Amangeldyev (58) and Nazar Tovakilova (66).

"Akhal" won its fourth victory of the season, gained 12 points and consolidated its position in the first place of the Premier League table. Second-placed "Altyn Asyr" is two points behind.

"Merv" suffered its third defeat in a row and remains in seventh place with 4 points.

In other matches of the round, the capital's Altyn Asyr tied 1:1 with Shagadam, and Nebitchi also drew with Kopetdag (0:0).

In the next round on April 19, Altyn Asyr will play away with Merv, Shagadam will host Kopetdag, and Akhal will travel to Ashgabat.

Representatives of the women's chess team of Turkmenistan, Jahan Rejepova and Bagul Ezizova, took fourth and sixth places respectively at the Asian Zonal Championship (Zone 3.4), which was held in Almaty from April 1 to 10.

Particularly distinguished was 14-year-old Jahan Rejepova, who was awarded the title of FIDE Women's Master (WFM) and fulfilled the first norm of Women's International Master (WIM). This was reported by the press service of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan.

The tournament was an official qualifying round for the 2025 FIDE World Cup and brought together 131 leading chess players from five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, including 87 men and 44 women.

Vice-President of the Asian Chess Federation and First Vice-President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation Darmen Sadvakasov noted at the closing ceremony the mature level of play of the Turkmen girls, especially 14-year-old Jahan Rejepova, who has loudly declared herself at a high international level.

During the competition, Rejepova scored a number of impressive victories over strong opponents, including players from the Kazakhstan national team. She scored 1.5 points out of 2 possible in games against the silver medalists of the Budapest 2024 Olympiad, including a win over WGM Liya Kurmangalieva (FIDE rating 2249) and a draw with the tournament’s top seed, WGM Aloua Nurman (2347).

Thanks to her successful performance, Redzhepova increased her FIDE rating by 137 points, bringing it to 2150. With a score of 6.5 points out of 9 possible, she took fourth place, stopping just one step away from the podium and a ticket to the World Cup.

Another representative of Turkmenistan, international female candidate Byagul Ezizova (1941), took sixth place with 6 points.

In the men's tournament, Turkmen chess player Saparmurat Atabayev (2530), who recently received the title of grandmaster, took ninth place with 6 points, failing to hold a draw in the final round in a duel with Muhammadzokhid Suyarov.

Following the results of the championship, three chess players won tickets to the World Cup: Afruza Khamdamova (Uzbekistan) - 7.5 points, Elnaz Kaliakhmet (Kazakhstan) - 7 points and Meruert Kamalidenova (Kazakhstan) - 7 points; as well as four chess players: Aldiyar Ansat (Kazakhstan) - 7.5 points, Satbek Ahmedinov (Kazakhstan) - 7 points, Alisher Suleimenov (Kazakhstan) - 7 points and Muhammadzohid Suyarov (Uzbekistan) - 7 points.

The volleyball tournament "Sport - Messenger of Peace" among higher education institutions, dedicated to World Health Day, was held in Ashgabat from April 1 to 8.

The Nebitchi volleyball team of the Yagshygeldy Kakayev International Oil and Gas University won confident victories in all their matches with a score of 3-0. The volleyball players were able to reach the final of the tournament, successively defeating the Binagar, Oguz Khan and Yupek Yoly teams.

In the final match, the Nebitchi volleyball players won a confident victory over the Talyp Sport team of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports with a score of 3:0, winning the championship title of the tournament.

A delegation from Turkmenistan participated in the second phase of the Regional Forum of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Olympic Solidarity (OS), which took place in Dushanbe.

The event convened representatives from the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of over 22 West and Central Asian nations to discuss matters concerning the hosting of the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Bahrain in 2025, the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games to be held in Riyadh in 2026, and the XX Summer Asian Games scheduled for 2026 in the Japanese cities of Aichi and Nagoya.

Participants also deliberated on the programs of the International Olympic Committee and the preparation of athletes for the XXXIV Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

At the opening ceremony, the Minister of Sport of Tajikistan, Zulfikor Gulahmadzoda, delivered a speech expressing confidence that the outcomes of this forum would lay a solid foundation for new achievements and fruitful cooperation within the Olympic Movement.

Within the framework of the forum, a "Fun Run" was organized to promote a healthy lifestyle, popularize sports, and strengthen friendship among the participating delegations of this significant international event.

The first phase of the forum was held in Thimphu, Bhutan, with the participation of representatives from the NOCs of East, South, and Southeast Asia.