Turkmenistan re-joins to the boxing map at the upcoming ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships

Turkmenistan will return to the international stage after more than two years of break and compete at the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships. The event will be taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on January 20-30 and Turkmenistan registered eight boxers, mostly teenagers but Saparmyrat Odayev and Yhlas Gylychjanov has got strong international experiences from 2018 and 2019.

Turkmenistan hosted its last national event in April 2020 and since then all of their competitions have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Their boxers spent most of their life in training camps and in the gyms and tried to prepare to the next international events with hard physical workouts.

The eight-strong team has been selected by the management and coaches of the Turkmenistan Boxing Federation including their former two-time Olympian boxer, Aliasker Bashirov. Former National Champion Annamyrat Sahedov and Dovran Maylybayev are also work with the U22 team as coaches.

Ashgabat’s 19-year-old Dovlet Muhanov achieved gold medal at the 2020 Turkmenistan Youth National Championships and following his local titles, he received the right to represent the country at the bantamweight (54kg) in Tashkent. Yhlas Gylychjanov involved to the elite national team more than two and half years ago and attended at the Yekaterinburg 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships.

Youth National Champion Shukur Ovezov turned to elite in 2020 and the upcoming ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships will be his big comeback at the lightweight (60kg). Abdyrahman Babayev also trains in Ashgabat and won the 2020 Turkmenistan Youth National Championships following his junior national titles. The 19-year-old talent will represent Turkmenistan at the light welterweight (63.5kg) in the Uzbek capital.

Saparmyrat Odayev, who moved up to the welterweight (67kg), was silver medallist at the Bangkok 2018 ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships and he proved impressive developments but he also did not have any official contests during the pandemic period. Youth National Champion Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov will be turning to 20 this year and moved up to the new light middleweight (71kg).

Islam Hojatov competed successfully at the junior and youth national events and will attend at the light heavyweight (80kg) in Tashkent. Ashgabat’s Rustem Mammedov is also Youth National Champion and will be turning to 19 only later this year. Turkmenistan’s new super heavyweight (+92kg) boxer was unbeaten in the national competitions and will be making his debut in the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships.

List of the Turkmen team at the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships
54kg: Dovlet Muhanov
57kg: Yhlas Gylychjanov
60kg: Shukur Ovezov
63.5kg: Abdyrahman Babayev
67kg: Saparmyrat Odayev
71kg: Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov
80kg: Islam Hojatov
+92kg: Rustem Mammedov

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