The first medal for the Turkmenistan team at the XX Asian Games in the Japanese city of Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture) was won by karate athlete Davut Nazmyradov, who claimed a silver medal. The 22-year-old Candidate for Master of Sport from Balkanabat achieved this success in the up to 75 kg weight category, where 10 athletes competed for the medals.

On his way to the final, Davut confidently defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Nazim Nurlanov 7:2 in the opening quarterfinal bout. In the semifinal against Syria’s Fawaz Bani Al-Marjeh, the regular time ended in a 0:0 draw, but by a decision of the judges (hantei), the victory and a place in the final were awarded to the Turkmen karate athlete. In the decisive bout for the gold medal, D. Nazmyradov lost a closely fought contest to Iran’s Morteza Nemati, 3:4, and won the silver medal. The Iranian athlete took the top step of the podium, while the bronze medals went to Kazakhstan’s Nurkanat Azhikanov and Syria’s Fawaz Bani Al-Marjeh.

Davut Nazmyradov first made a strong name for himself in 2022, when he won the Turkmenistan Championship in the 18–24 age category and also claimed a number of medals in the under-21 category at the International Banzai Cup in Berlin and the World Championships in Pardubice (Czech Republic). In 2024, he won bronze medals at the Asian Youth Championships (under 21) in Manila (Philippines) and the Asian Senior Championships in Hangzhou (China), as well as victories at the Uzbekistan Open in Urgench and the Central Asian Championships in Samarkand.

The Turkmen athlete’s silver medal at the continent’s main sporting forum, held under the patronage of the Olympic Council of Asia, has become an excellent gift for the 35th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s independence.

Representatives of the national karate school have reached the Asian Games podium for the second consecutive time: three years ago, at the XIX Asian Games in Hangzhou, Bayry Bayryyev won bronze in the up to 67 kg category. The current silver-medal success confirms the systematic work of the Karate-do Federation of Turkmenistan in preparing high-class athletes. This result is also rightly shared by the national team’s head coach, Aydyn Charyyev, under whose guidance Nazmyradov continues to improve his sporting skills.

Meanwhile, at the Asian Games in Nagoya, results are being summed up and competitions in other disciplines are continuing. In wushu-sanda, all five Turkmen athletes entered in the event have completed their performances. The best result was achieved by Merjen Joraeva (up to 60 kg), who defeated Nepal’s Rita Thakulla 2:0 in the round of 16, but then lost to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy in the quarterfinals. The following athletes were eliminated in the round-of-16 stage: Bibimeryem Akmuhammedova (up to 52 kg), who lost 0:2 to Kazakhstan’s Ayan Tursyn; Mukhammet Jumamyradov (up to 75 kg), who lost 0:2 to Zhang Huanyi of Chinese Taipei; and Hezret Ovezgeldiyev (up to 65 kg), who was defeated 0:2 by Iran’s Shoja Panahigelehkolaei. Another representative of Turkmenistan, Bayrammyrat Annamyradov (up to 60 kg), lost in the quarterfinals to Indonesia’s Bintang Reindra Nada Guitara .

At the 2026 Asian Games boxing tournament, where 11 sets of medals are being contested (six for men and five for women), Turkmenistan is represented by five boxers. Four of them completed their performances in the preliminary round. The 24-year-old International Master of Sport and bronze medalist at the previous Games in Hangzhou, Bayramdurdy Nurmukhammedov (up to 70 kg), lost to Bahrain’s Ali Abdalla by a split judges’ decision (1:4). In a closely fought bout between Dovlet Mukhanov (up to 60 kg) and Sri Lanka’s Jayawardhana Gunasila, the judges also awarded the victory to his opponent by the narrowest margin (3:2). In the other two bouts, Daniyar Rozmetov (up to 55 kg) and 19-year-old Abdyrahman Yklymov (up to 80 kg) lost by identical scores of 0:5 to Kangpi Bokkhunthod of Thailand and Nekruz Salimov of Tajikistan, respectively. The last Turkmen boxer to enter the Asian Games ring will be Dovlet Islamov (over 90 kg), who will face Kyrgyzstan’s Myrzakyr Koshaliev on September 25.

Three events in Nagoya have been completed by Asian Games debutant swimmers Valeriya Mirenskaya, David Akopyan and Alan Mukhin. On the first day, 19-year-old V. Mirenskaya completed the 200-meter individual medley in 2:43.30, finishing 21st out of 23 competitors. The following day, she swam the 100-meter freestyle in 1:03.50, placing 29th out of 35, while today she finished 28th out of 35 competitors in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 29.11 seconds.

David Akopyan finished 26th out of 36 in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.72. In the 100-meter butterfly, the 19-year-old athlete trained by Mark Pilyugin recorded the 26th-best result (56.26 seconds), while in the 50-meter butterfly he finished 22nd (24.89 seconds) out of 44 competitors.

In the 50-meter butterfly, D. Akopyan swam in the same heat as the youngest member of the national team, 15-year-old Alan Mukhin. Finishing 1.28 seconds behind his teammate, Alan placed 35th overall. Earlier, the athlete trained by coach Dmitry Novikov finished 34th out of 43 competitors in the 100-meter freestyle (53.69 seconds) and 29th out of 48 in the 50-meter freestyle (23.91 seconds).

Alan Mukhin has completed his participation in the Games, while V. Mirenskaya and D. Akopyan will compete in their final events on September 25: Valeriya will compete in the 50-meter butterfly, while David will take part in the 50-meter breaststroke.

In the weightlifting tournament, where the country is represented by four athletes, the first Turkmen competitor to take the platform was two-time world champion among girls under 17, Ogulshat Amanova. In the up to 53 kg category, she lifted 88 kg in the snatch and 103 kg in the clean and jerk, finishing ninth among 13 competitors with a combined total of 191 kg. Gold in this weight category was won by Kang Hyun-kyung of the DPRK with a result of 223 kg (99+124), silver went to China’s Zhao Jinlan (218 kg; 94+124), and bronze to Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao (214 kg; 95+119).

In the coming days, Turkmenistan’s track and field athletes will begin their competitions at the Asian Games. The first to compete in the 100-meter race will be 26-year-old Lukman Gurbandurdyyev and current coach, Olympian Valentina Meredova, who competed at the 2008 Beijing and 2024 Paris Olympic Games and will celebrate her 42nd birthday in Nagoya on September 29.