Imankuliyev, Nuryagdyyev and Achilov are in world class at the Turkmenistan National Cup

The Turkmenistan National Cup was held for the men’s elite boxers in the city of Ashgabat in the recent days which was the last activity of the Central Asian country in 2018. Turkmenistan’s world class boxers such as Hursand Imankuliyev, Nuryagdy Nuryagdyyev and Arslanbek Achilov all won their categories in Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan sent seven boxers to the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games but their best hopes were not able to get any medals this time in comparison to their two podium places in 2014. Their best boxers proved top performances in several international events in 2018 and their squad has got high potential to make it better in 2019.
The national event was held in eight different weight classes from the flyweight (52kg) up to the super heavyweight (+91kg). The number of the participating men’s elite boxers was 71 in these eight weight classes in Ashgabat.
Zarip Jumayev is one of the most experienced elite boxers in Turkmenistan who has been attending in the international events since 2009. The 26-year-old Jumayev stopped his first two opponents during his road to the final of the National Cup. He reduced to the fighting distance successfully against a tall opponent, Asian Games competitor Jabbar Meyleyev who moved up from the light flyweight (49kg), and Jumayev won his next title.
Yazmyrat Gurbanov was successful as a junior and youth boxer and he attended also in the Tashkent 2017 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships but he was not the main favourite of the 57kg weight class. Nineteen boxers attended in this category and Gurbanov was able to make the show and defeat the main favourite Islamic Solidarity Games silver medallist Yakub Meredov in the final.
Asian Games quarter-finalist Hursand Imankuliyev reached the level of the best boxers in the world this year and he defeated powerful Russian, Mongolian, Japanese and Filipino athletes as well. The 22-year-old boxer dominated all of his fights, he won these contests before the final bell in Ashgabat and also did not give any chance to former National Champion Timur Halilov in the final.
Muhammet Berdybayev was the main favourite for the gold medal at the welterweight (69kg) but he was stopped by Shokhrat Durdiyev in the quarter-final stage of the National Cup. Durdiyev stopped also another national team member Togrulbeg Pazzyyev in the semi-final but he lost to Sunnet Annaseidov in the title contest. The 23-year-old Annaseidov won his first national title in 2012 and following his injuries he boxed in top level at the National Cup.
Nursahat Pazzyyev claimed bronze medal in the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games and qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well. He returned after four years of break in 2017 and he won his next national title at the middleweight (75kg) after beating former AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships competitor Ikhtiyar Masharipov who also returned to the boxing rings.
Nuryagdy Nuryagdyyev is only 20 but he took bronze already in the Tashkent 2017 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships following his silver in Pavlodar as a youth boxer. The strong light heavyweight (81kg) boxer stopped Ustabek Samandarov in the semi-finals and controlled his final against veteran Rasul Yuldashev.
Arslanbek Achilov won the gold medal in the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games and he is not only Turkmenistan’s best heavyweight (91kg) boxer but one of the top ones in the whole Asian continent. He walked over to the gold medal against his brother Azizbek Achilov while National Champion Shatlyk Sharyyev claimed only bronze this time.
Baky Toychiyev is a young prospect at the super heavyweight (+91kg) who joined to the elite national team in 2017 following his youth national titles. The 20-year-old boxer had a tough quarter-final against Ruslan Atadjanov but following that success he was too strong for Shokhrat Pirimanov in the semi-final and Tejen Hommadov in the final.

List of the winners in the Turkmenistan National Cup
52kg: Zarip Jumayev, 1992
57kg: Yazmyrat Gurbanov, 1995
63kg: Hursand Imankuliyev, 1996
69kg: Sunnet Annaseidov, 1995
75kg: Nursahat Pazzyyev, 1992
81kg: Nuryagdy Nuryagdyyev, 1998
91kg: Arslanbek Achilov, 1993
+91kg: Baky Toychiyev, 1998

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