On March 25, the Turkmenistan national team defeated the Chinese Taipei national team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The group “D” match took place in Kaohsiung and ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the guests. Ange Samuel scored for the hosts (63rd minute). Elman Tagayev (48) and Yazgylych Gurbanov (83) scored for the Turkmen team.

For two players of the Turkmenistan national team, this match was their debut for the national team – they included “Ahal” forwards Dayanch Meredov and Mahtymberdy Berenov.

Meredov came out in the starting lineup, played 64 minutes, giving way to Altymurat Annadurdyyev. Berenov came on as a substitute in the 60th minute instead of Shanazar Tirkishov.

In the next round, the Turkmenistan team will host the Thailand team on June 10, and the Taipei team will play away against the Sri Lanka team on the same day.

From March 24 to April 17, Turkmenistan will host a series of friendly hockey games dedicated to two significant events: the International Year of Peace and Trust and the 30th anniversary of the country's neutrality.

Seven teams will take part in the tournament, including the ten-time national champion "Galkan" and such teams as "Oguzhan", "Şir", "Nesil", "Watançy", "Merdana" and "Bürgüt", the newspaper "Neutral Turkmenistan" reports.

The competitions will be held on three ice rinks in the capital:

- Winter Sports Center "Galkan"

- Winter Sports Complex

- National Olympic Sports Palace

The Turkmenistan national football team defeated the Chinese Taipei team in an away match of the first round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round.

The Group D match ended with a score of 2:1. The winners were scored by Ahal forward Elman Tagayev (48th minute) and Arkadag midfielder Yazgylych Gurbanov (83). The hosts' only goal was scored by Samuel Kouame.

In the next round, Turkmenistan will host Thailand on June 10, and the Chinese Taipei team will play away against Sri Lanka.

The winners of six qualifying groups will advance to the final tournament of the 2027 Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time.

Earlier, 18 teams have already secured the right to participate in the final stage of the 2027 Asian Cup. These are the participants of the 3rd round of the 2026 World Cup qualification: Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, China, the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Palestine, Uzbekistan, Japan and Saudi Arabia (as the organizer).

Turkmen football players have participated in the final stages of the Asian Cup twice. The first time was in 2004, when the tournament was held in China, and the second time was in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates. In the previous draw, the Turkmenistan national team took 3rd place in the qualifying group "E" and did not make it to the final tournament of the Asian Cup, which took place in 2023 in Qatar.

The Asian Cup is held every four years. Its first draw took place in 1956. Since 2007, the tournament has been held in odd years. The current Asian champions are Qatar, who have won the continental trophy twice in 2019 and 2023.

On one of the most significant and beloved holidays of the East — International Day of Novruz — the first stage of the new chess tournament of the Turkmenistan Grand Prix ended in the capital's Chess and Checkers School.
This tournament is a series of six stages covering all five velayats of Turkmenistan, and its final with knockout games will also be held in Ashgabat. The first stage, which started on March 17, brought together 130 participants: 86 in the open category and 44 in the women's category. At the moment, the players are gaining important points for the overall standings.

Surprises in the Women's Category
The women's category of the tournament was won by Enesh Arazmedova (FIDE rating - 1811), gold medalist of the 2024 World Chess Olympiad in Budapest in category "C". Despite the fact that Enesh started the competition as the sixth seed, she managed to get ahead of more experienced rivals and win first place with 7.5 points, which allowed her to increase her rating by 96 points. She trains under the guidance of Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Serdar Annaberdiev.

The second place with 7 points was taken by Gulmira Seyilkhanova (rating 1926), an 11th-grader of Secondary School No. 41 in Turkmenabat. 
Third place was shared by four chess players with 6.5 points, but the bronze medal for additional indicators was received by Byagul Ezizova (rating 1939), a candidate for FIDE master, who is currently also training with Serdar Annaberdiev.

The young chess players competed with dignity with their older rivals. Among the cadets, Aya Bayramova (6th place, 6.5 points), Nurana Soyunova (7th place, 6 points), and Dilber Khupbyeva (9th place, 6 points) distinguished themselves. 
Nurana Soyunova's rating improvement was especially impressive, adding 126 points. The head coach of the women's team of Turkmenistan, Shakhrukh Turaev, pins his hopes on the future performances of these girls in international tournaments.

Tournament Innovations: Real-Time Online Broadcast
One of the tournament's striking innovations is the introduction of real-time online broadcasting of games, which has become a real step forward for chess in Turkmenistan. In the test mode, 7 boards were presented in the open category and 3 boards in the women's category.

This was made possible thanks to cooperation with the Dutch company DGT, a manufacturer of specialized chess equipment, and the leading Turkmen IT company "Imdat Elektronika".
Open category: Khommadov dominates
In the open category of the tournament, gold was won by Amanmukhammet Khommadov (rating 2251), a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports. The protégé of Serdar Annaberdiev scored 8 points out of 9 possible, without losing a single time – 7 wins and 2 draws.

The fight for silver and bronze in this category was tense, as four players scored 7 points each, and the fate of the medals was decided by coefficients.
Silver went to Lale Shokhradova (rating 2137), a student of the International University of Oil and Gas.

Bronze was won by Serdar Bayramov (rating 1998), a student of Secondary School No. 31 in Turkmenabad.
Jahan Rejepova, the champion of the 2025 Major League in the women's category, scored 6.5 points and took 7th place among 86 participants.

The next stage of the Grand Prix of Turkmenistan is planned for May this year in Balkan velayat, the Chess Federation reported.

Last weekend, in the Karakum Desert of the Baherden Etrap of the Ahal Velayat of Turkmenistan, exciting rally-raid competitions were held, timed to coincide with the celebration of the National Spring Holiday, asmannews.ru reports.

Athletes competed for the Turkmenistan Cup on a difficult track with a total length of 143 kilometers.

Sports cars presented by the Automobile Sports Federation of Turkmenistan, the Police Departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Turkmenavtoulaglary Agency took part in the tournament.

The race was divided into two stages: the first was 33 kilometers, and the second, more difficult – 110 kilometers. The participants had to demonstrate extraordinary driving skills in the harsh desert conditions.

According to the results of the competition, Maksat Danatarov, who competed in a Nissan Patrol from the Automobile Sports Federation of Turkmenistan, became the winner of the Turkmenistan Cup.

His teammate Meylis Abdullaev, also in a Nissan Patrol, took second place. Yolaman Abayev (Automobile Sports Federation of Turkmenistan) in a Mitsubishi L200 rounded out the top three.

From February 24 to 28, 2025, the Turkmenistan Blind Checkers Federation held the open Ashgabat City Championship among men at the Turkmenistan Chess and Checkers School. The competition was intense and exciting, giving the audience many unexpected results.

According to the press secretary of the federation, in the adult category, Shirmammet Bayramalyev won first place, Chary Byashimov took second place, and Arslan Meredov took third place with dignity.

In the youth category, Mekan Babamyradov became the winner, Ilmurat Bayramalyev received a silver medal, and Melek Mommadova became the bronze medalist.

The tournament was held at a high organizational level.

The third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying round in the Asia zone saw the seventh round matches. Japan became the first team to secure a direct ticket to the World Cup.

In Group A, Iran continues to lead with 19 points after beating the UAE (2:0). Uzbekistan moved into second place with 16 points after beating Kyrgyzstan (1:0) in a tense match. The Kyrgyzstan team played with ten men from the 24th minute after Said Datsiev was sent off, and in the 40th minute, their goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotayev saved Eldor Shomurodov's penalty. The UAE and Qatar share third place with 10 points (Qatar defeated North Korea 5:1). Kyrgyzstan has 3 points left, and North Korea is at the bottom of the group with 2 points.

In Group B, the Republic of Korea leads with 15 points after a 1-1 draw with Oman. Jordan and Iraq share second place with 12 points each. Oman has 7 points, Kuwait has 5, and Palestine has 3 points.

In Group C, Japan secured a place at the 2026 World Cup with 19 points after beating Bahrain 2-0. Daichi Kamada (66th minute) and Takefusa Kubo (87th) scored. Australia is second with 10 points after a 5-1 rout of Indonesia. Saudi Arabia is third with 9 points after beating China 1-0. Indonesia, Bahrain, and China share fourth place with 6 points each.

Recall that according to the qualifying format, the top two teams from each group directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The third and fourth-placed teams will play in the fourth round, where they will compete for two more direct tickets and a place in the intercontinental playoffs. The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 15 to July 13 with 48 teams participating.

The national football team of Turkmenistan will begin its fight in the qualifying tournament of the Asian Cup-2027 with an away game against Chinese Taipei. The match will take place on March 25 in Kaohsiung and will start at 15:30 Ashgabat time.

According to the results of the draw, the national team of Turkmenistan got into group "D", where the teams of Thailand and Sri Lanka will also compete.

Mergen Orazov's team will play six matches as part of the selection process: five in 2025 and one game in March 2026. The winners of the six qualifying groups will receive tickets to the final part of the Asian Cup 2027, which will be held in Saudi Arabia.

Turkmen weightlifters will compete at the World Youth Championships, which will be held from April 30 to May 5 in Lima (Peru).

The preliminary application, published on the website of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), included 15 Turkmen athletes – 7 boys, 8 girls.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has recommended the inclusion of boxing in the program the XXXIV summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028, scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30. This decision follows the recognition of the new international governing body, World Boxing, established in 2023.

IOC President Thomas Bach expressed his confidence that this recommendation will be endorsed at the upcoming 144th Session of the sport’s governing body, to be held this week in Costa Navarino, Greece.

At the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the boxing competitions were conducted under the authority of a special IOC task force. This arrangement ensured the opportunity for athletes to participate in the tournament.

The first stage of the Grand Prix chess tournament, a completely new tournament organized by the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, has started in Ashgabat. This unique competition, which began on March 17, is attended by 127 players: 83 in the open category and 44 in the women's category.

The series of six tournaments is held in a classic format, will cover all five velayats of Turkmenistan and will be held in five cities: Ashgabat, Turkmenbashi, Dashoguz, Turkmenabat and Mary. The Ashgabat stage marked the start of this prestigious competition series. The final stage will also be held in the capital.
The main goal of the Grand Prix series is to provide chess players from all over the country with top-class game practice and create various opportunities to get into the top league, thereby stimulating the development and popularization of chess in our country.

The peculiarity of the tournament is that it is from this tournament that the online broadcast of games in real time begins in the chess history of Turkmenistan. Each move that chess players make at the board is immediately, with the help of special sensors built into the chess pieces and the board, converted into digital format and transmitted to online platforms using the DGT LiveChess application.

Chess fans, professionals and just spectators from all over the world can watch every move, analyze the opponents' play, empathize and enjoy exciting games. Moreover, you can watch the clock indicators, i.e. the minutes and seconds remaining for each player, after each move, which adds additional intrigue to chess fans.

The Lichess platform, through which the broadcast of this tournament is conducted, is considered the most popular among chess fans for watching games of various tournaments from all over the world live.
As part of the broadcast from the current tournament, 7 boards are presented in the open category and 3 boards in the women's category, which will allow viewers to follow intense matches and support their favorites. However, the joint plans of the Chess Federation and the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School are to increase the number of boards for simultaneous broadcast.

The Dutch company DGT, a manufacturer of specialized chess equipment for online broadcasting, and the leading Turkmen IT company Imdat Elektronika also assist in the implementation of these technical tasks.
The Chess Federation believes that this technical innovation is another step towards turning chess into a real spectacular sport for a wide range of fans.
Based on the results of the entire series of Grand Prix tournaments, 16 best players in each category will be determined, who will advance to the final stage of the playoffs, where they will play knockout games. The winners in both categories will receive direct tickets to the 2026 Turkmenistan Premier League, where the national team will be formed.

The first Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup to be held outside of Asia has begun in the United Kingdom, as reported by the online publication Insidethegames.biz.

The tournament features teams from across the globe, comprising 16 men's and 8 women's teams divided into four groups. Among the men's teams, India, Pakistan, and Germany are considered favorites, while India and England are the favorites in the women's division.

The tournament will run until March 23rd and will take place in cities such as Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. It will also be available for viewing on online platforms.

The tournament not only highlights the growing prominence of kabaddi but also serves as a symbol of inclusivity and diversity in sport.

"The fact that the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup is being held outside of Asia for the first time is a clear indication of the global growth of this sport. Kabaddi is gaining popularity worldwide, and we hope it will soon become part of the Olympic Games", stated Ashok Das, President of the International Kabaddi Federation.

Kabaddi, which originated in India several thousand years ago, is a sport that combines tactical skill, speed, and strength. Two teams of seven players compete on a field to capture a flag.