Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev sent a congratulatory message to the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the proclamation of national neutrality, emphasizing the strategic importance of this event for the development of interstate relations in Central Asia.

In his message, Mirziyoyev highlighted that the UN's recognition of Turkmenistan's neutral status fosters friendship and multifaceted cooperation with countries worldwide. The President of Uzbekistan expressed full support for Turkmenistan's foreign policy and underscored the importance of deepening strategic partnership between the two nations.

Mirziyoyev also praised the achievements in bilateral cooperation over the past year and expressed confidence in the further strengthening of interstate ties. He wished President Serdar Berdimuhamedov success in his state activities and peace and prosperity to the people of Turkmenistan.

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov participated in a solemn ceremony of laying flowers at the Monument of Neutrality, symbolizing the country's commitment to the ideals of peace and creation, reports TDH.

The ceremony was attended by senior state officials, the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Mejlis, Halk Maslahaty, and public organizations. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov laid a wreath at the foot of the monument, erected as a symbol of peace, goodness, and the humane principles of the Turkmen people.

The legal status of Turkmenistan's permanent neutrality, recognized twice by the UN, is a strategic foundation of the state's foreign policy. In his address, the head of state noted that neutrality fully corresponds to national interests and the goals of the United Nations, opening up broad opportunities for the implementation of international initiatives in the field of peace and sustainable development.

The first semi-final matches of the Turkmenistan Football Cup will take place on December 12 and 13, FFT reports.

On Thursday, December 12, “Nebitchi” will host “Arkadag” in Balkanabat. The match will start at 14:00 local time. A day later, on December 13, “Ahal” will meet “Altyn Asyr” in Ashgabat, the game will start at 15:00 at the “Nisa” stadium.

It is worth noting that the return games are expected to take place in a week, on December 20 in Ashgabat.

Let us remind that the current holder of the Turkmenistan Cup is “Arkadag”.

Turkmenistan Cup. Semi-final. First matches:

• December 12, 14:00, “Nebitchi” – “Arkadag”
• December 13, 15:00, “Ahal” – “Altyn Asyr”

“Arkadag” footballers beat “Altyn Asyr” 4-0 away in a rescheduled match of the 27th round of the Turkmenistan Championship. Shanazar Tirkishov (7th minute) and Begench Akmammedov (32, 36, 41) scored.

“Arkadag” finished the season in the championship of Turkmenistan with a 100% result for the second year in a row. Vladimir Bayramov's team did not lose a single match in the domestic championship. The team still has a chance for two more titles - the Turkmenistan Cup and the AFC Challenge League.

“Ahal” (67 points) took second place in the Turkmenistan Championship with one round to go. The first two teams will play in the Asian Football Confederation tournaments next season.

“Altyn Asyr” (56) came in third, “Shagadam” (40) came in fourth, “Merv” (35) came in fifth, “Ashgabat” (28) came in sixth, “Nebitchi” (27) came in seventh, and “Kopetdag” (17) came in eighth.

Turkmen chess players from Lebap velayat Maksat Avlyakuliev and Aya Bayramova won two silver medals at the Asian Rapid Chess Championship among schoolchildren in Bangkok.

Rapid is a fast-paced version of chess with a time limit for thinking, where each player is given 15 minutes for the entire game, with an increment of 10 seconds for each move.

The competition in the capital of Thailand brought together 555 participants from 31 countries, who competed for the title of the strongest in six age categories – under 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 years old.

Seeded 12th Maksat Avlyakuliev won silver in the boys under 9 years old category. He scored 6 points. The same number of points was scored by the 4th seed Amirzhan Anetov from Kazakhstan, who won the gold medal by winning the personal encounter. The bronze medal was won by another athlete from Kazakhstan – 5th seed Alikhan Nazarbek, who was half a point behind the leaders.

10-year-old Aya Bayramova, seeded 9th, won silver in the under  11 years old girls category. Scoring 6 points out of 7 possible, she was only half a point behind tournament winner Peng Jingyi from China (3rd seed). The top three was completed by the first seed Victoria Makhina from Russia with 5 points.

Our compatriots Alikhan Batyrov from the Mary velayat and Serdar Bayramov from the Lebap velayat were not lucky enough, and based on additional indicators they remained one step away from medals.

In the boys under 11 years old category, athletes from India Narendra Agarwal (seeded 10th) and from the Islamic Republic of Iran Ramtin Kakavand (seeded 1st) scored 6 points each and took 1st and 2nd places, respectively. Four participants who were aiming for the bronze medal scored 5.5 points each. Among them was Alikhan, seeded 4th. However, according to additional indicators for a greater number of victories in black, the bronze medal went to athlete from Kazakhstan Ibrahim Bakyt (seeded 11th), and Alikhan ended up in 6th place in the final standings.

In the category among boys under 17 years old, with 5.5 points each, 1st and 2nd places were shared by FIDE master from the Philippines Arca Christian (3rd seed) and FIDE master from Mongolia Ulzikhishig Khishigbat (10th seed). The five players who were aiming for the bronze medal, including Serdar Bayramov, seeded 15th, were half a point behind the leaders. But the medal went to Myanmar's FIDE Master Sai Khan Thikha (6th seed) for the greater number of wins. Serdar finished sixth.

Among our athletes, 7-year-old schoolgirl from Mary velayat Anna Charyeva also performed successfully, taking 6th place with 5 points.

In the team event in the rapid format, Turkmenistan took 7th place among 31 countries. First place went to Kazakhstan with 9 medals, including 5 gold, second place went to China. And third place went to Russia, whose athletes competed under the flag of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The top ten also included: India (4th place), the Philippines (5th place), Uzbekistan (6th place with one gold medal), Mongolia (8th place), Vietnam (9th place) and Iran (10th place).

Turkmen athlete Bunyad Rashidov won a silver medal in the snatch at the World Weightlifting Championships in Manama (Bahrain). He achieved this success in the weight category up to 73 kg, in which 26 weightlifters competed for the awards.

In the snatch, Rashidov lifted 154 kg. However, in the clean and jerk, he showed the 16th result (163 kg) and ultimately took 15th place (321 kg). Hyun Ri Ryong (DPRK) became the world champion – 349 kg (152 + 197). Second place went to Rizki Junyansya (Indonesia) – 340 kg (150 + 190). And Zhong Zhiguang (PRC) rounded out the top three – 336 kg (152 + 197).

The Turkmenistan national weightlifting team at the world championship is represented by 8 athletes, the tournament will end on December 15.

Eight athletes will represent Turkmenistan at the World Weightlifting Championships that started in Manama, Bahrain. The tournament brought together 471 athletes (245 men and 226 women) from 92 countries.

The men's team of Turkmenistan included 7 weightlifters: Bunyad Rashidov (up to 73 kg), Bektimur Reyimov (up to 73 kg), Gaygysyz Torayev (up to 81 kg), Resul Rejepov (up to 96 kg), Shahzadbek Matyakubov (up to 102 kg), Davranbek Hasanbaev (up to 102 kg) and Atajan Daiyev (over 109 kg). And the women's team included one athlete - the 2018 world champion in the weight category up to 45 kg Yulduz Jumabayeva (up to 59 kg).

The national team of Turkmenistan was preparing for the World Weightlifting Championships in Antalya, where training camps were held under the leadership of head coach Mansur Rejepov.

The Turkmenistan national football team will play in group “D” in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying tournament with the teams of Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka.

The draw for the qualifying tournament took place today at the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur. Based on its results, six groups of four teams each were formed. Each team will play six games in the group - three at home and three away.

Only the winners of the six qualifying groups will advance to the final part of the 2027 Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia.

Results of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying draw:

Group “A”: Tajikistan, Philippines, Maldives, East Timor

Group “B”: Lebanon, Yemen, Bhutan, Brunei

Group “C”: India, Hong Kong (PRC), Singapore, Bangladesh

Group “D”: Thailand, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka

Group “E”: Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Pakistan

Group “F”: Vietnam, Malaysia, Nepal, Laos

A regular meeting of the executive committee was held in the conference hall of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan. One of the key decisions was the approval of football specialist Serdar Geldyev to the post of General Secretary of the FFT, reports the FFT.

Serdar Geldyev began his career in 2005 in the Ashgabat club MTTU. Over the years, he played for the Turkmen clubs "Ashgabat", "Balkan", "Altyn Asyr" and "Ahal". In February 2020, S. Geldyev signed a one-year contract with the Malaysian club PDRM, making his debut on March 1 in a match against "Sabah".

The son of the famous Turkmen football coach Orazmuhammed Geldyev, after finishing his playing career, Serdar followed his father’s example and became a coach. Holder of a PRO level coaching license, in 2023 he headed the "Ahal" football club, which under his leadership competed in the group stage of the AFC Champions League of the 2023 season.

The volleyball team "Migration" of the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan became the winner of the Turkmenistan Volleyball Cup, organized by the National Volleyball Federation, according to the agency's website.

Military personnel of the State Migration Service are members of the national teams of Turkmenistan, regularly participate in international competitions in various sports and take prizes.

The multipurpose sports complex at the Faculty of Olympic Sports of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports is hosting competitions in innovative fields such as phygital and cybersports. The event is timed to coincide with the International Day of Neutrality.

Students from higher education institutions are participating, demonstrating their skills in phygital football, phygital basketball, phygital table tennis, phygital chess, and cybersports.

The field of cybersports, particularly phygital sports, is gaining popularity worldwide.

In 2024, the first "Games of the Future" were organized in Kazan, where representatives from our country participated. A team of 15 athletes from the Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan competed in matches of phygital football and phygital basketball. 

The current competitions will help identify promising athletes who can participate in the qualifying stages of the international "Games of the Future," scheduled for 2025 in the United Arab Emirates.

Winners in phygital disciplines and cybersports will receive prizes and certificates.

The Turkmenistan national football team will find out their opponents in the qualifying matches for the right to play in the 2027 Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia, on Friday, December 9. The draw will take place in Kuala Lumpur, with the broadcast starting at 12:00 Ashgabat time.

According to the FIFA ranking, the Turkmenistan national team is in the second pot. The draw will result in six groups of four teams each. Only the group winners will advance to the final part of the 2027 Asian Cup.

The composition of the pots before the draw:

Pot 1: Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Lebanon, Vietnam, India

Pot 2: Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Philippines, Afghanistan, Hong Kong (China), Yemen

Pot 3: Singapore, Maldives, Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan

Pot 4: Brunei, Bangladesh, Laos, East Timor, Pakistan, Sri Lanka