Athlete from Turkmenistan Alp Arslan Begenjov won the gold medal of the Asian champion in freestyle wrestling among cadets under 17 at the competitions held in Bishkek. A student of the 9th grade of the capital's Boarding School for the preparation of young Olympians achieved this success in the weight category up to 65 kg, in which 10 athletes contested the championship title.
On the way to the highest step of the podium, Alp Arslan defeated Tumirlan Noruzbekov (Kyrgyz Republic) in the quarterfinals - 11:0, in the semifinals he defeated Aikyn Bolatuly (Kazakhstan) - 9:4, and in the final he defeated Akobir Rakhimov (Uzbekistan) - 9 :6.
Bronze medalists in this weight category were Eugene Takizawa from Japan and Aikyn Bolatuly from Kazakhstan.
Candidate for master of sports Alp Arslan Begendzhov, who will turn 16 on August 8, began to practice freestyle wrestling in the section of the current head coach of the cadets of Turkmenistan Berdy Atabayev. Currently, he is improving his skills under the guidance of the silver medalist of the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Batyr Orazgylydzhov. And very successfully. Prior to that, A. Begendzhov twice won the championship of Turkmenistan among cadets under 15 years old, and a month ago he excelled at the international tournament "Constantin Alexandru & Ioan W. Popovici" among cadets under 17 years old in Romania.
Great hopes at the Asian Championship in Bishkek were also pinned on the silver medalist of the Romanian tournament in the weight up to 55 kg Ismail Mukhammedov. However, in the quarterfinals, he lost to Khusanboy Usmonov (Uzbekistan) - 0:10 and dropped out of the fight for medals.
Parahat Ataev was close to winning a bronze medal in the team of Turkmenistan. In the quarterfinals in the weight category up to 80 kg, in which 10 athletes competed for awards, he defeated Yakov Chaplin (Kyrgyz Republic) - 4:2. However, then our compatriot lost to the vice-champion of Asia-2022 Askhab Khadzhiev (Kazakhstan) - 0:10, and in the fight for 3rd place lost to Muhammadamin Abdulloev (Tajikistan) - 0:10 and finished below the line of winners.
Another Turkmen wrestler, Azymberdi Ashirgulyev, will compete for the bronze medal of the Asian Championship. In the weight category up to 45 kg, which brought together 8 contenders for awards, he defeated Keitatsu Shigemitsu (Japan) in the quarterfinals - 11:9. However, then he lost to Amirmohammad Navazi (Iran) in the semi-final - 0:7 and now he will face Muntugs Amgalan (Mongolia) in the bronze medal match.
Three more of our freestyle wrestlers - Yunusmuhammet Khallyev (weight category up to 60 kg), Davut Khadzhatov (up to 71 kg) and Orazmuhammet Khodjalyev (up to 92 kg) completed their performance at the Asian Championship in the early stages. The first two lost in the first round, respectively, Minato Koive (Japan) - 0:10 and Gan Erdene Baatarkuu (Mongolia) - 0:4, and the latter lost to Sherzod Poyonov (Uzbekistan) - 0:8 in the consolation tournament for bronze.
