Sportsman from Turkmenistan, Begench Baltayev, won a bronze medal at the World Sambo Championships that ended in Yerevan. The 28-year-old coach of the 2nd sports school of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of the Lebap velayat achieved this success in the weight category up to 79 kg, in which 24 sambists fought for medals.

The largest tournament brought together 332 sportsmen from 62 countries who fought for the title of the strongest in 21 weight categories among men and women in sports and combat sambo.

The competition took place on the carpets of the sports and concert complex named after Karen Demirchyan, also known as the «Demirchyan Arena».

Sambo wrestler from Russia, Belarus, France, as well as a team of refugees competed in a neutral status.

The Turkmenistan national team was represented by seven athletes. And only one of them climbed to the podium.

On the way to the medal, Begench Baltayev won four victories. In the first fight, he defeated Dino-Dominik Sumpor (Croatia), then took over Levan Nakhutrishvili (Georgia), and in the third round he defeated Hadbaatar Narankuu (Mongolia). In the fight for reaching the final, our compatriot lost to Ivan Kharkov (Bulgaria), who became the world champion, and in the fight for bronze he prevailed over Akhunaa Beishenaly uulu (Kyrgyzstan).

The second bronze medal in this weight category went to Russian Egor Suhoparov, and the silver medal went to Armenian sambo wrestler Boris Shatveryan, who lost to Bulgarian Ivan Kharkov in the final.

Sambo wrestlers who won medals at the World Championships were awarded badges of the International Sambo Federation made of gold, silver and bronze, as well as cash prizes. The prize fund of the competition was $231 thousand. The winners of the world championship received $4 thousand, silver medalists - $3 thousand, and bronze medalists - $2 thousand.

This is not the first time Begench Baltayev has achieved success at major international competitions. Last year he won silver medals at the Asian Championships in Jounieh (Lebanon) and the Asian Open Cup in Aktau (Kazakhstan). At the 2022 World Championships in Bishkek he became second. This year, Begench won silver at the Asian and Oceanian Championships in Astana (Kazakhstan). And now he has become a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Championships.

In 2024, the World Sambo Championship will be held in Astana, and in 2025, Ashgabat will host the world championship in this sport.