On March 12, Arkadag Football Club will host Indian East Bengal in the second leg of the 1/4 finals of the AFC Challenge League. The game will take place at the home stadium in Arkadag and will start at 15:30 local time.

On the eve of the important match, the head coach of the Turkmen team, Dovletmyrat Annayev, and striker Didar Durdyev held a pre-match press conference, where they shared their expectations for the upcoming meeting.

Answering a question about the state of the team, Dovletmyrat Annaev emphasized the high level of readiness of the players: "A team in such tournaments should always be ready to the maximum, because if you are not ready to the maximum, there is no point in participating in such tournaments." According to the coach, the players do not need additional motivation.: "Playing in a club like Arkadag is already a motivation."

Regarding tactics for the upcoming game, the coach of the Turkmen club noted that the team is preparing for various scenarios for the development of the match: "In modern football, it is a thankless task to assume in advance how the match will go. We are ready for different game situations."

Forward Didar Durdyev, commenting on the first match in India, which Arkadag won away (1-0), acknowledged the difficulty of the game in unusual climatic conditions.: "It was a little hard because of the weather, but everything went well. The most important thing is that we completed the task and won the away match."

At the same time, the player noted that the team does not relax before the home game: "We know, this does not mean anything that we won the first match. In the second game, at home, at home, the task is also to win."

Turkmen tennis players will make their debut at a prestigious international tournament in Türkiye, where they will compete with the best teams in the world, reports the publication “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

The ITF Masters World Team Championship will start in Manavgat, Türkiye, where the national team of Turkmenistan will participate for the first time. The tournament will bring together 126 teams that will compete in the age categories of 30, 35, 40 and 45+ years.

The Turkmen team will compete in the 30+ category, where 12 teams divided into 4 groups will compete for the title. The Turkmen team is in group “B” along with the teams of Great Britain and Canada. The winners of the groups will advance to the playoffs.

The Turkmen team received an invitation to this prestigious tournament, held according to the Davis Cup rules, last year during a visit to the country by the President of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) David Haggerty.

The national team included: the country's number one tennis player Yuri Rogusskiy, bronze medalist of the 2024 Turkmenistan Cup Gurbanberdy Gurbanberdyev, as well as former number one tennis players of the country Aleksandr Ernepesov and Eziz Dovletov, who together won the Davis Cup in Group IV of the Asia and Oceania zone in 2013.

Mirali Gasanov, the head coach of the country's men's team and the only holder of a PRO Level certificate in Turkmenistan, which gives the right to work with professional players in any country in the world, has been appointed captain of the team.

The Turkmen tennis players will play their first match at the tournament against the UK team.

The East Bengal footballers arrived in Turkmenistan, where they will play against Arkadag in the return match of the ¼ finals of the AFC Challenge League. The first meeting in Kolkata ended with a victory for the Turkmen team with a score of 1:0.

According to the press service of the Indian team, the visiting footballers held a training session on Monday under the guidance of head coach Oscar Bruzon at the stadium in the Buzmeyin etrap of Ashgabat, which is the home arena for Altyn Asyr.

The return match of the 1/4 finals of the AFC Challenge League Arkadag – East Bengal will take place at the stadium of the “smart” city on March 12 at 15:30 Ashgabat time.

On the eve of the game, representatives of the teams will give a press conference.

The results of the draw for the 1/2 finals of the Belarusian Cup have become known.

Vitebsk, for which Vepa Jumaev plays, and Torpedo-BelAZ, for which Teymur Chariyev plays, recognized their rivals.

Draw results:

• Torpedo-BelAZ (Zhodino) – ML (Vitebsk)
• Neman (Grodno) – Vitebsk
• The first matches will be played in April, and the second matches will be played in May.

In the quarterfinals, Vitebsk turned out to be stronger than Slutsk (2:0 and 0:0), and Torpedo-BelAZ passed Dynamo Brest by the sum of two meetings (0:0 and 1:0).

From February 25 to March 8, the World Chess Championship among players under 20 was held in Petrovac (Montenegro). Six chess players from Turkmenistan participated in the tournament - three boys and three girls, who demonstrated a worthy fight in the international arena.
The tournament brought together 255 of the world's strongest chess players from more than 60 countries. The games were held in 11 rounds according to the Swiss system in two categories: open (OPEN) and among girls. In the open category, 157 chess players competed, while among girls, 98 participants entered the fight.

Tournament results for the Turkmenistan team
In the men's category, the Turkmenistan team was represented by Amanmuhammet Khommadov (5.5 points), Vepaly Khalyniyazov (5 points) and Serdar Bayramov (4 points). The winner of the tournament in this category was Indian grandmaster Venkatesh Pranav (FIDE rating - 2615), who scored 9 points and won the world champion title.

In the women's category, Turkmenistan was represented by sisters Lala and Leyla Shokhradova, as well as Gulmira Seyilkhanova. Lala scored 5 points, Leyla and Gulmira - 4.5 points each. In this group, the world champion title was won by 16-year-old Russian Anna Shukhman, who scored 9 points (FIDE rating - 2365).

Given the strong lineup of participants, five out of six Turkmen chess players increased their FIDE ratings. Khalyniyazov scored the most rating points, adding 65 more to his 2157 points. Also, worth mentioning are Bayramov (2007, +56) and Seyilkhanova (1939, +51). Overall, our chess players performed at about the level of their seeding at the start of the tournament.

Experience, analysis and preparation for new battles
The tournament became a valuable experience for young chess players of Turkmenistan. For the coaching staff, the games played and the results will be the subject of further analysis and improvement of the preparation process, the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan noted.

New international tournaments are ahead for Turkmen chess players. In April, they plan to participate in the Central Asian Zonal Championship (Kazakhstan), the World Rapid and Blitz Championship among boys and girls (Greece), the Moscow State University Cup and other prestigious competitions. Time for preparation remains limited, and the coaching staff plans to carry out thorough work to achieve high results in these tournaments, the SCF added.

The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the sports and age requirements for the III Asian Youth Games, which will be held from October 22 to 31, 2025, in Bahrain.

In a letter to the presidents and general secretaries of the 45 National Olympic Committees, Director General of the sports structure, Hussein Al Musallam, stated that the decisions were made jointly with the Organizing Committee of the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain.

Young athletes aged 14 to 17 from various Asian countries will participate in the competitions. The Games program includes 24 sports, among which are: athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, equestrian sports, esports, futsal, golf, handball, judo, jiu-jitsu, mixed martial arts, road cycling, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wrestling, weightlifting, kabaddi, volleyball, and teqball.

Among the disciplines is camel racing, following the Olympic Council of Asia's official recognition last month of World Camelids Sports as the governing body for camel racing in Asia.

The III Asian Youth Games will be a significant event for young people, providing an opportunity to showcase their athletic achievements on the international stage.

Turkmen "Arkadag" beat Indian "East Bengal" in the first match of the 1/4 finals of the AFC Challenge League.

The meeting, held on Wednesday in Calcutta, ended with a 1-0 victory for the guests. Yazgylych Gurbanov scored a goal in the 10th minute.

The second leg of the two-legged match will be played on March 12 at the Arkadaga field.

The women's tennis team of Turkmenistan successfully began its performance at the international junior qualifying tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup in the age category under 16, winning a crushing 3:0 victory over the Vietnamese team, the publication "Turkmenistan: Golden Age" reports.

The competition is being held in Malaysia with the participation of teams from 14 countries, which are divided into four groups. Turkmenistan is competing in group “B” along with Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The national team includes three young athletes: Ilima Huseynova, Aynur Movlyamova and Jennet Charyeva.

Based on the results of the group stage, the two best teams will advance to the playoffs of the tournament. For the Turkmen tennis players, the victory in the opening match was an excellent start to the fight for reaching the next stage of the competition.

It is worth noting that the Billie Jean King Cup is the largest international team competition in women's tennis. Until 2020, the tournament was called the Fed Cup and was renamed in honor of the famous American tennis player Billie Jean King.

The first meeting of the rivals, held at the Bernabeu Stadium, ended with the victory of the home team with a score of 2:1. Rodrigo (4th minute) and Braim Diaz (55th minute) scored goals for Real Madrid. The goal of the guests was scored by Julian Alvarez (32).

In the other match of the game day, English Arsenal defeated Dutch PSV with a score of 7:1.Jurrien Timber (18th minute), Ethan Nvaneri (21), Mikel Merino (31), Martin Edegaard (47, 73), Leandro Trossard (48) and Ricardo Calafiori (85). Noah Lang scored a goal for the Dutch club, who converted a penalty (43).

Results of the first matches of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League on March 4:

• Bruges – Aston Villa – 1:3;
• Borussia Dortmund – Lille - 1:1;
• PSV – Arsenal - 1:7;
• Real Madrid – Atletico Madrid — 2:1.

The return matches in these pairs will be held on March 12.

The current Champions League winner is Real Madrid. In the final of the last tournament, the Royal Club beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0.

Uzbek Pakhtakor defeated Saudi Al-Hilal in the first match of the 1/8 finals of the AFC Elite Champions League. The match, held in Tashkent, ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of the home team. Flamarion scored the only goal in the 29th minute.

The second leg of the two-legged match is scheduled for March 11. According to the German portal Transfermarkt, the market value of Al-Hilal is 178.5 million euros, and Pakhtakor is 12.05 million euros.

The Turkmenistan Football Championship of the 2025 season started on March 4. 

Within the framework of the 1st round, 3 meetings will be held: "Akhal" – "Nebitchi", "Altyn Assir – "Ashgabat" and "Shagadam" – "Merv". The match between the Arkadag and Kopetdag teams has been postponed to a later date.

Match schedule of the 1st round:

"Akhal" – "Nebitchi"

March 4. Gengeshlik Babarap. 15:00

• Chief Judge: A.Begnazarov (Mary)
• Assistants: M.Shanazarov (Mary), S.Yusupov (Mary)
• Reserve referee: H.Gurbanov (Ashgabat)
• Match supervisor: M.Ovezdurdiyev (Mary)

Altyn Asyr – Ashgabat

5th of March. Buzmeyinsky etrap. 15:00

• Chief Referee: Nariman Garajayev (Ashgabat)
• Assistants: M.Allaberdiyev (Ashgabat), H.Amanmamedov (Balkanabad)
• Reserve referee: E.Yazmuradov (Ashgabat)
• Match supervisor: A.Sapayev (Dashoguz)

Shagadam – Merv

5th of March. Balkanabad. 15:00

• Chief Judge: B.Atdiyev (Arkadag)
• Assistants: I.Kurambayev (Dashoguz), A.Veliyev (Anau)
• Reserve referee: P.Palvanov (Dashoguz)
• Match Supervisor: B.Atajanov (Dashoguz)

The striker of the Turkmenistan national football team Mikhail Titov signed a contract with the Uzgen club from Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the team reported.

The 27-year-old football player, who played for the Turkmen clubs Altyn Asyr, Arkadag and Nebichi, will continue his career in the Kyrgyz Premier League. Titov's contract with Uzgen is for one year.

Earlier, another representative of Turkmenistan, Maxim Belykh, a former football player of the national team of the country, joined the coaching staff of Uzgen.

It should be noted that Uzgen represents the city of the same name with a population of about 70 thousand people. The team is led by a young specialist Nadyrbek Mamadaliev.

In the upcoming 2025 season, 14 clubs will participate in the Kyrgyz championship, including four newcomers – Asiyagol (Bishkek), Bars (Karakol), Bishkek City (Bishkek) and Uzgen (Uzgen).