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.

Ahal defeated Kopetdag in the match of the 3rd round of the Turkmenistan Football Championship among Major League teams.

The meeting in Goktepe etrap ended with a score of 4:0 in favor of the hosts. The goals were scored by Dayanch Meredov (23rd minute), Gurban Annayev (35th), Suleyman Kadirov (76th, own goal) and Yakupmuhammet Govshudov (90+3).

Ahal, which has a match in reserve, scored 6 points and rose to second place in the standings, two points ahead of Merv and Nebichi. Kopetdag takes the last, 8th place, with zero points.

In the other matches of the day, Nebichi drew with Shagadam at home (0-0), while Merv shared points with Ashgabat (0-0) on the road.

Kuwaiti Al-Arabi tied with Omani Al-Seeb in the return match of the ¼ finals of the AFC Challenge League in the West zone. The meeting, which took place on Thursday night in Oman, ended with a score of 2:2, but thanks to a minimal victory (1:0) in the first match, the Kuwaitis won a ticket to the semi-finals, where the Arkadag footballers were already waiting for them.

Arkadag and Al-Arabi have already met in the group stage of the AFC Challenge League, where the Turkmen team lost with a score of 2:3.

The semi-final matches will be held on April 9 and 16. Arkadag will play the first game away, and the return game at its home stadium in the city of Arkadag.

Let us remind that Arkadag reached the semi-finals of the third most important club tournament in Asia for the first time in its history. In the quarterfinals, the Turkmen team defeated the Indian East Bengal, winning in Kolkata with a score of 1:0, and in the return match at home – 2:1.

The Turkmenistan national tennis team made a successful debut at the prestigious ITF Master's World Team Championship tournament, held in Manavgat, Türkiye. The national team in the 30+ age category made it to the quarterfinals of the competition, where 12 of the world's strongest teams are competing, reports the publication "Turkmenistan: Golden Age".

Turkmenistan is represented at this tournament by the country's number one tennis player Yuri Rogusskiy, bronze medalist of the 2024 Turkmenistan Cup Gurbanberdy Gurbanberdyev, as well as former number ones of the country Aleksandr Ernepesov and Eziz Dovletov. The latter two won the Davis Cup in Group IV of the Asia and Oceania Zone as part of the national team in 2013. The team captain is the head coach of the national men's team and the Ashgabat Tennis Academy Mirali Gasanov, the only holder of the PRO Level certificate in Turkmenistan.

In the group stage, the Turkmen team lost to the UK team with a score of 0:3, but in the decisive match for reaching the quarterfinals, they won an important victory over the Canadian team.

In the first singles match, Alexander Ernepesov beat Jabrill Kabli with a score of 7:5, 6:3, but in the second match, Canadian Nicholas Vincent prevailed over Yuri Rogusskiy – 7:6, 6:2. The fate of the ticket to the quarterfinals was decided in the doubles match, where Ernepesov and Rogusskiy snatched victory from Kabli and Vincent in a tie-break – 6:4, 7:6(4).

Reaching the top eight teams in the world was a historic achievement for Turkmen tennis, especially considering that this was the team’s debut performance at this tournament.

In the quarterfinals, the Turkmen tennis players will meet the Indian team. In the remaining matches for the semifinals, Argentina will play Sweden, Germany will play Türkiye, and the USA will play Great Britain.

On Wednesday, Arkadag Football Club beat East Bengal 2-1 in the AFC Challenge League match, securing a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.

The meeting took place in the city of Arkadag. Altymurad Annadurdiyev played a key role in the victory, coming on as a substitute and scoring two goals against the Indian club. A player named Messi scored for the visiting team.

This result allowed the Turkmen club to continue playing in the Asian tournament and advance to the next stage of the competition.