Four wins, one loss, and second place – this is the result of the Turkmenistan national hockey team at the recently held World Championship in Turkiye, in Division III Group A – the sixth tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

The fight for the only promotion spot to the higher Division II Group B at the “Zeytinburnu” Arena in Istanbul involved the national teams of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Kyrgyzstan, Turkiye, South Africa, and Turkmenistan.

The Turkmen hockey players started the tournament successfully. In the first round, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3:1 (1:1, 0:0, 2:0); in the second, they sensationally beat the hosts, Turkiye, 2:1 (1:1, 1:0, 0:0); and in the third, they inflicted a heavy defeat on Luxembourg 8:3 (1:1, 0:1, 7:1).

The fate of first place, contested by Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Turkiye, was decided in the last two rounds. In the penultimate round, our compatriots faced Kyrgyzstan, who had also achieved three victories, successively defeating South Africa 5:2 (2:1, 2:0, 1:1), Luxembourg 6:0 (0:0, 3:0, 3:0), and Bosnia and Herzegovina 5:1 (2:0, 1:0, 2:1).

Last year, the national teams of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan already played each other at the World Championship in Bishkek. Then, the Kyrgyz team celebrated victory – 7:5 (2:1, 2:2, 3:2).

The second head-to-head encounter was also tough for the Turkmen hockey players, with Kyrgyzstan again prevailing – 8:1 (4:0, 3:1, 1:0). Pavel Barkovsky scored the only goal for Turkmenistan at a score of 0:6 in the 35th minute.

In the final round, our hockey players met the team from South Africa, whom they had already played three times at World Championships. In two matches, Turkmenistan had celebrated victory – 7:2 at the 2019 World Championship in Sofia and 4:3 at the 2024 World Championship in Bishkek. Only at the 2023 World Championship in Cape Town did South Africa succeed – 4:3.

The fourth head-to-head match with South Africa was a serious test for the Turkmen hockey players, who were losing 2:5 by the third period but managed to turn the game around, tying the score a second before the final siren and scoring the winning goal in overtime – 6:5. For Turkmenistan, double goals were scored by Baymyrat Baymyradov (1st and 14th minutes) and team captain Amangeldi Aganiyazov (44th and 60th). In regular time, Pavel Barkovsky (44th) also scored, and the winning overtime goal was credited to Kerven Bayliyev (62nd).

In the last match of the tournament, Kyrgyzstan narrowly defeated Turkiye 3:1 (1:0, 1:1, 1:0) and, taking first place with 15 points, achieved promotion – for the first time earning the right to play in Division II Group B at the 2026 World Championship.

Second place with 11 points went to the Turkmen hockey players, who received silver medals at the awards ceremony. The bronze for third place with 9 points went to the Turkish team. Notably, this team had been led for more than three years by Slovenian specialist Andrej Brodnik, who was dismissed after losses to Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Luxembourg team, finishing last with 3 points, was relegated to Division III Group B. Next year, they will be replaced in Division III Group A by the Mexican team, which won the recently concluded 2025 Division III Group B World Championship at home in Santiago de Querétaro, defeating Hong Kong 5:2, the Philippines 9:1, Singapore 18:1, Mongolia 7:6, and North Korea 9:2.

Last year, Turkmenistan finished 4th at the World Championship in Bishkek in Division III Group A. Now, our hockey team has climbed two steps higher. This achievement was led by head coach Ilyas Veliev, assisted by Guvanch Jepbarov.

Let us recall that 19 hockey players represented Turkmenistan at the World Championship in Istanbul: 12 from the “Galkan” club of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 5 from “Shir” of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, and one each from “Oguzhan” of the Turkmengaz State Concern and “Alp Arslan” of the Turkmenaragatnashyk Agency.