Turkmen athlete Bairamdurdy Nurmukhammedov has reached the quarterfinals of the boxing tournament at the ongoing XI Summer Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The 21-year-old student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports achieved this success by winning the second victory in the weight category up to 71 kg, in which 23 boxers are fighting for medals.
As already reported, in the first fight Bairamdurdy beat Davud Mahkamov from Tajikistan, a participant of the 2023 World Championship in Tashkent, 5-0. And in the second, he defeated 19-year–old Nidal Focahaa from Palestine, who took 9th place at the 2023 World Championship in Tashkent.
The advantage of our compatriot was revealed in the first round, in which all five judges ruled in favor of the Turkmen athelete. And in the second round, B. Nurmukhammedov knocked down his opponent three times in 29 seconds, after which the referee Sid Ali Mokretari from Algeria had to stop the fight and award the victory to the Turkmen boxer for a clear advantage.
In the quarterfinals, the winner of which guarantees himself at least a bronze medal, Bairamdurdy Nurmukhammedov will meet with 26-year–old Tuguldur Byambatsogt, who previously won in the first round by technical knockout over Mohammad Khaybar Nuristani (Afghanistan), and in the second he defeated Peerapat Yeasungnoen (Thailand) - 5:0.
At this year’s Asian Games, boxers are fighting not only for medals, but also for tickets to the Olympic Games-2024, which the finalists will receive.
Meanwhile, competitions in other sports are continuing at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. In the men's 3x3 basketball tournament, medals are contested by 19 teams divided into 4 groups, 3 of which will advance to the next round of competitions. The national team of Turkmenistan got by lot into the so-called "group of death" (B), where, in addition to the Maldives, there are strong rated teams of Japan, the Republic of Korea and Iran.
After a crushing victory in the first round over the Maldives – 22:2, Toili Bayriev's wards played an equal match with the national team of Japan, the Asian Games favorite. During the meeting, the Turkmen team scored 5:0, 10:6, 11:7, 13:12. 42 seconds before the end of the match, the score was tied 15:15 and it seemed that the sensation was so close. However, the Japanese were more focused in the last seconds of the match and snatched the victory – 19:15.
In the next match between our team and the Iranian national team, a stubborn struggle unfolded from the first minutes on the court, the rivals went, as they say, point to point. However, at the end of the game, the Iranians were more accurate in their shots and celebrated an important victory with a score of 19:13.
The final match with another favorite of the tournament – the Republic of Korea national team, which led the score throughout the game, turned out to be difficult today. 2 minutes 28 seconds before the end of the match, our team reduced the gap to 3 points (12:15). However, they could not turn the tide of the game. After losing in the end with a score of 15:19, the Turkmen basketball players finished their performance at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, taking 4th place in the group.
The first group of Turkmen athletes, including the judo team with a bronze medal, will return home from Hangzhou tomorrow. As already reported, it was won by Maysa Pardayeva, a native of Koytendag and now a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, in the weight category up to 57 kg at the XIX Summer Asian Games.
On the final day of the judo competition, Baimyrat Majanov (weight category up to 100 kg) had a chance to compete for bronze in the consolation tournament after winning in the first round over Isroil Rakhimov (Tajikistan) and losing to Muzaffarbek Turoboev (Uzbekistan). But he did not take advantage of it, losing to Aron Philip Wolf (Japan).
Leaving the Athletes' Village in Hangzhou, Maysa Pardayeva left a T-shirt with her autograph at the headquarters of the delegation of Turkmenistan as a souvenir. Representatives of our team at the XIX Summer Asian Games, in turn, wished the talented judoka to win a medal for Turkmenistan at the upcoming World Junior Championship to be held from October 4 to 7 in Odivelas (Portugal).
