The permanent champion of Turkmenistan in hockey «Galkan» retained the title of the strongest team in the country. The hockey players of the sports club of the Ministry of Internal Affairs achieved this success ahead of schedule, four rounds before the end of the national championship, beating the «Vatanchy» team of the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense with a score of 8:1.
Organized by the National Ice Hockey Federation with the assistance of the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, the 8th Championship of Turkmenistan started on the 22nd of November, 2022. The medals of the national championship, in addition to «Galkan» and «Vatanchy», are contested in a four-round tournament by the hockey clubs «Oguzhan» of the State Concern «Turkmengaz», «Nesil» of the Institute of the MIA and «Merdana» of the Institute of Border Troops. All championship games are held at the ice arena of the «Galkan» winter sports centre of the MIA of Turkmenistan, which was solemnly opened in 2014 with the participation of the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
«Galkan» won the title of champion of Turkmenistan in hockey for the 8th time in a row. The head coach of the MIA club and the national team Bayram Allayarov led the winning team to this impressive success.
The triumph of hockey players of the MIA club is by no means accidental. The national champion team is 95 percent staffed with players from the national team, which will soon have to complete the final stage of preparation for the World Championship in the third division of Group «A», which will be held from the 17th and to 23rd April this year in the Republic of South Africa.
Five teams will compete for a ticket to the second division of group B: Luxembourg, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, and South Africa. The first game of the national team of Turkmenistan will be held on the 17th of April against the hosts of the championship - the team of South Africa. On the 18th of April, Bayram Allayarov's wards will play with Luxembourg, on the 20th of April - with Thailand and will end the tournament on the 22nd of April with a match with Taiwan.