Nineteen-year-old International Master of Sports from Ashgabat, Alp Arslan Begenjov, won the title of Asian champion in freestyle wrestling among athletes under 23 years old for the first time. The second-year student of the Turkmen State Institute of Finance achieved this success at the continental youth championship held in Da Nang, Vietnam, competing in the 86 kg weight category, where 10 athletes contended for medals.
On his way to the highest award, the Turkmen wrestler did not concede a single point to his opponents, earning three victories with an overall score of 27:0. In his opening bout, which was a quarterfinal match, Alp Arslan defeated Mor Sachin of India 6:0. In the semifinal, he secured an early victory over Uzbekistan’s Boburbek Ruzimboev 11:0, and in the final he also won early against Abylaikhan Uzembaev of Kazakhstan with a score of 10:0.
The bronze medals in this weight category went to India’s Mor Sachin and Taebin Kim of the Republic of Korea.
Last year, at the U23 Asian Championships in Vung Tau, Vietnam, A. Begenjov won a silver medal in the 79 kg category. This time, at the same continental championship, he upgraded his silver to gold.
Alp Arslan first drew attention in 2022, when he won the 65 kg category at the “Constantin Alexandru & Ioan W. Popovici” international cadet tournament for athletes under 17 in Romania and also captured gold in the same age category at the Asian Championships in Bishkek. In 2023, he won bronze at the U17 Asian Championships. In 2024, he claimed gold medals for the first time at the Asian and World Championships among athletes under 20, held in Thailand and Spain respectively. In 2025, in addition to winning silver at the U23 Asian Championships in Vietnam, A. Begenjov also earned bronze at the U20 Asian Championships in Kyrgyzstan.
Over the past two years, Alp Arslan competed successfully in the 79 kg weight class, but starting in 2026 he moved up to the new 86 kg category — and very successfully, as it turned out. In April of this year, A. Begenjov won bronze at the Senior Asian Championships in Bishkek, becoming the first Turkmen freestyle wrestler in history to win a medal at that tournament. And now he has captured continental gold for the first time in the under-23 category.
Alp Arslan Begenjov learned the basics of freestyle wrestling from his uncle in Ashgabat and also trained in the section led by Turkmenistan cadet national team head coach Berdi Atabayev. He is currently improving his skills under the guidance of Batyr Orazgylyjov, silver medalist of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
