Turkmen sambo athletes secured six medals of various distinctions at the 49th World Championships held in Astana.

This major tournament in Kazakhstan, with a prize fund of $311,000, attracted around 470 athletes from 80 countries, who competed for 31 sets of medals in sport and combat sambo for men and women, as well as sambo for blind men in the SVI-1 class (totally blind athletes).

Over three days of competition, Turkmen athletes won 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals.

On the first day of the championship, two bronze medals were awarded to Zarina Abdyrahmanova (weight category up to 54 kg), a coach and instructor at the sports school of the Ak Bugday etrap of the Main Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Ahal velayat, and Gulzada Jorakulyyeva(up to 72 kg), an athlete from the National Federation of Martial Arts of Turkmenistan. Both achieved success in combat sambo competitions.

On the second day of competition, 26-year-old Master of Sports Muminjan Arzykulyov won a gold medal. He became the world champion in combat sambo in the weight category up to 71 kg, where 24 athletes competed for medals. M. Arzykulyov successfully combines active sports training with his work as a sambo coach at the 5th sports school in Garlyk village, Koytendag etrap, Lebap velayat.

On the final day of the World Championships, the Turkmenistan team's medal tally was further enriched with two silver and one bronze medal.

The silver medalists were: Bagul Nuryyeva, a coach and instructor at the 1st sports school of Charjev etrap of the Main Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Lebap velayat (combat sambo, up to 50 kg), and Sabina Agajanova, a coach and instructor at Danew etrap of the Main Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Lebap velayat (combat sambo, over 80 kg). The bronze medal was awarded to Kambar Umarov, a coach and instructor at the 3rd sports school of Charjev etrap of the Main Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Lebap velayat (sports sambo, up to 71 kg).

The next jubilee 50th World Sambo Championships will be held in Ashgabat in 2025. At the FIAS Congress held in Astana, delegates also confirmed Ashgabat as the venue for Congress-2025 and voted to extend Vasily Shestakov's term as president of the International Sambo Federation until 2029.