The ring stage near the Mongolian city of Khovd became the longest on the route of the Silk Road Rally and took participants through the first dunes of the marathon, which became the main highlight of the special stage. The total distance was 542.30 km.

Serial SUVs

Andrey Sushentsov won another victory in the T2 series SUV classification and significantly strengthened his advantage in the overall standings. The fact is that one of his main rivals, Mikhail Mityaev from LADA Sport ROSNEFT Raid, encountered technical problems after an unsuccessful descent from the dune and completed the special stage on an asphalt road - the crew was counted ten hours behind. And Anton Melnikov from the Podmoskovye team had an engine jam, and the crew finished the race ahead of schedule.

Now the main pursuer of Sushentsov was the crew of the brothers Merdan and Shohrat Toyliyev, who won the Silk Way rally in 2022. Both are representatives of the "Turkmenavtoulaglary" agency. Now, however, they are more than two and a half hours behind the leader, but have a chance to catch up. The Silk Road Rally will last until July 15.

Another crew of the Automobile Sports Federation of Turkmenistan under the control of pilot Maksatmyrat Danatarov and navigator Didar Orazmedov rose to third place.

The table tennis tournament among young athletes born in 2011 and younger has ended in Ashgabat. The competition, organized by the Table Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan, attracted participants from Ashgabat and Mary.

The tournament was aimed at popularizing table tennis in the country, identifying talented players and assessing the effectiveness of working with young athletes. The organizers noted a noticeable increase in the level of skill of the participants, which indicates the successful development of this sport in Turkmenistan.

Chairman of the Federation Agamurat Allanazarov emphasized the importance of such competitions for the formation of the future national team. He also expressed gratitude to the country's leadership for supporting the development of table tennis.

It should be noted that holding such a tournament demonstrates attention to the development of children’s and youth sports in Turkmenistan. The success of the event permits us to optimistically assess the prospects of table tennis in the country and expect future achievements of Turkmen athletes in the international arena.

The Spanish national team won a strong-willed victory over France in the semi-finals of the European Football Championship. The match, held in Munich, ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the Spaniards.

Lamin Yamal (21st minute) and Dani Olmo (25th minute) scored goals for the winners. Randal Kolo-Mouany (9) scored for the French. Yamal, at the age of 16, became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the European Championships.

French team captain Kylian Mbappe entered the field without a protective mask, despite a broken nose received in the match against Austria. Mbappe provided an assist in this game.

The team's top scorer Olivier Giroud played his last match for the French national team. The striker came on as a substitute in the 79th minute. In May, the footballer said that the European Championship would be his last tournament as part of the national team.

In the Euro 2024 final, Spain will play against the winner of the match between the Netherlands and England, which will be held on July 10 in Dortmund. The meeting for the trophy will take place on July 14 in Berlin.

On the fifth day of the race, the participants crossed the border between the Russian Federation and Mongolia and continued to fight on treacherous rocky tracks in the vastness of the "country of the eternal blue sky".

On July 9, a caravan of participants of the Silk Road rally marathon crossed the Russian-Mongolian border, followed by the first stage in the 14th edition of the race through the territory of the "country of the eternal blue sky". The special stage began with fast winding trails between picturesque hills, then the athletes were waiting for rocky areas with pits and mounds passing through rocky deposits past the mountain lake Achit-Nuur. By the finish line, the crews took a route through a canyon with fast roads, where participants had the opportunity to spin their engines at full power. The total distance was 555.42 km.

The crew of the Automobile Sports Federation of Turkmenistan, led by two-time Silk Road Rally medalist Maksatmyrat Danatarov, became the strongest in the T2 production SUV standings. Mikhail Mityayev from LADA Sport ROSNEFT Raid showed the second result in the race, who again beat the leader of the overall standings Andrey Sushentsov.

In the overall standings, a pair of T2 class leaders — Sushentsova and Mityaeva — are now 11.5 minutes apart. Danatarov takes the third position, ahead of Anton Melnikov. The crew of the Toyliyev brothers closes the top five.

From July 5 to 8, the Russian Rally Raid Championship was held as part of the Silk Road international competition, which brought together participants from 13 countries.

Representatives of the agency "Türkmenawtoulaglary" — brothers Merdan and Shohrat Toyliyevs - showed a notable achievement in the T2 class off-road vehicles. Merdan, who acted as a pilot, and his navigator Shohrat took the honorable third place.

The first place in this class went to the crew of Andrey Sushentsov and Alexander Shchanov, who demonstrated a high level of skill and overcame difficult sections of the route. Anton Melnikov and Anton Nikolaev took the second place.

The Silk Road Rally will last until July 15. The participants still have to overcome a number of difficult stages along the route passing through the territories of Russia and Mongolia.

The fourth stage of the Silk Road rally marathon has ended.

Mikhail Mityaev, a debutant of the Silk Road Rally, famous for his performances in circuit races, won the T2 class production SUVs on the fourth stage. This success allowed the LADA Sport ROSNEFT Raid crew to reduce the gap from the leader of the overall T2 standings Andrey Sushentsov from S&A Racing to 14 and a half minutes.

The third position is held by the current winner of the race in this category, Anton Melnikov from the Moscow Region team, followed by three crews of the Automobile Sports Federation of Turkmenistan.

The fifth stage, a special stage of which will be 295 km, will take place along the Kosh-Agach - Khovd route (Mongolia).

The Silk Road Rally takes place from July 5 to July 15 on the territory of Russia and Mongolia. The race route connects the Russian cities of Tomsk, Barnaul, Gorno-Altaysk and Kosh-Agach, as well as the Mongolian Khovd, Altai, Bayankhongor, Mandalgobi and Ulaanbaatar.

Turan-Tovuz Azerbaijani football club played its first match at the training camp in Gabala under the leadership of new head coach Kurban Berdyev. As reported by azerisport.com The team won a convincing victory over Shamkir with a score of 13:0.

Recall that in June of this year, an experienced Turkmen specialist Kurban Berdyev signed a two-year contract with the Azerbaijani Turan-Tovuz with the possibility of extending it for another year.

Berdyev is widely known for his achievements with Rubin Kazan, with whom he twice became the champion of Russia, twice won the National Super Cup and once the Cup of Russia. In the 2020-2021 season, Berdyev also led Kairat to victory in the Kazakhstan Cup. His coaching career includes Kairat and Taraz (Kazakhstan), Genchlerbirligi (Turkey), Nisa (Turkmenistan), Traktor (Iran), Rostov, Sochi and Dynamo Makhachkala (Russia).

All participants in the semi-final matches of the European Football Championship have been determined. The last team to enter the top four was the Netherlands, beating the Turkish team with a score of 2:1.

Samet Akaydin (Türkiye) opened the scoring in the 35th minute. In the 71st minute, the Netherlands came back thanks to a goal from Stefan de Vrij, and 5 minutes later an own goal from Mert Muldur brought victory to the Dutch team.

In the semi-finals, the Netherlands will meet with the England team, which defeated the Swiss in a penalty shootout. Regular and extra time ended in a 1:1 draw (Brel Embolo, 75 – Bukayo Saka, 80). The English won the penalty shootout with a score of 5:3.

The semi-final match between the Netherlands and England will be held on July 10 in Dortmund.

The second semi-final between the national teams of Spain and France will be held on July 9 in Munich. Both meetings will begin at 23:45 Ashgabat time.

Let us remind that the current European champion, the Italian team, finished their performance in the tournament at the 1/8 final stage, losing to the Swiss team with a score of 0:2.

The European Championship final will be held on July 14 in Berlin.

The Federation of Mixed Martial Arts of Turkmenistan, founded in May last year, can already be proud of its young talents. One of them is 17 years old Arslan Tejenov, who won the gold medal at the Asian Combat Jujutsu Championship in Bukhara (Uzbekistan), the "Neutral Turkmenistan" newspaper reports.

Arslan achieved this success in the junior group of the weight category up to 55 kg, where he had three fights. In the quarterfinals, he defeated the Iranian Alireza Jebeli, and in the semifinals he beat the Asian champion Ersain Aitkazy from Kazakhstan ahead of schedule. In the final, Arslan also defeated the current world champion Bekzhan Abdisattor from Kazakhstan ahead of schedule using a painful hold.

At the award ceremony, Tejenov was awarded a gold medal, black belt (I dan) and a certificate from the International Federation of Combat Jujutsu, which confirms his mastery in this martial art.

Jujutsu is an ancient form of Japanese wrestling, formed between the VIII and VXI centuries. His effectiveness in close combat is due to a variety of grappling, choking and submission techniques. Modern versions include Nevasa Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Arslan has been training under the guidance of the honored coach of Turkmenistan Ata Adayev at the capital's sports school No. 6 since he was 13 years old. Adaev heads the Asian Jujutsu Federation and is vice-president of the International Federation.

According to the coach, Arslan has an exceptional fighting character and masters both striking and wrestling techniques. In addition to winning jujutsu, he won gold at the Asian Open MMA Championship in Kyrgyzstan in the 56,7 kg weight category. Tejenov is also the current champion of Turkmenistan in wushu sanda and combat sambo.

Arslan’s next goal is the World Combat Jujutsu Championship, which will be held in late November - early December this year in the Polish city of Mikolov.

The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) championship among youth teams (under 20 years old) is taking place in Jalal-Abad (Kyrgyzstan). After two rounds of the group stage, the Turkmenistan national team, playing in group "B", suffered two defeats.

In the first match, the Turkmen team lost to their peers from Uzbekistan with a score of 2:3, and in the second match they lost to the Iranian team - 0:3.

The tournament involves 6 teams divided into two groups. Group “B” consists of Turkmenistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, and in group “A” the youth teams of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan play.

After two rounds, the Iranian team is in the lead in group "B", ahead of Uzbekistan in additional indicators. These teams will determine the winners of first and second place in a head-to-head confrontation.

According to the regulations, the group winners will advance to the finals, and the second-place teams will compete for bronze medals. There will also be a match for fifth and sixth places.

Earlier it was reported that the Football Federation of Turkmenistan is considering participation in the CAFA-2024 championship as preparation for the qualifying round of the 2025 Asian Cup among youth teams.

The qualifying tournament for Turkmen football players will be held from September 25 to 29 in Bishkek, where their opponents in group “I” will be the teams of Japan, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.

The first pair of semi-finalists were determined at the European Football Championship in Germany. The national teams of France and Spain will compete for a ticket to the finals.

The French beat Portugal 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in regular and extra time. The Spaniards defeated the hosts of the tournament – the German national team with a score of 2 in extra time:1. Dani Olmo (51st minute) and Mikel Merino (119) scored for the winners, Florian Wirtz (89) scored for the losers.

The semi-final match will take place on July 9 in Munich and will begin at 23:45 Ashgabat time. Defenders Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Norman, as well as striker Alvaro Morata, will not be able to play in the Spanish national team due to suspension. Due to injury, midfielder Pedri will miss the meeting.

Two more semi-finalists will be determined today. England will play Switzerland at 21:00, and the Netherlands will face Turkey at 23:45. President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Erdogan is expected to attend the last game.

The European Championship will end on July 14. Recall that the winner of the last tournament was the Italian national team, which this year was eliminated at the 1/8 finals stage, losing to the Swiss (0:2).