The Turkmenistan national hockey team under the leadership of 55-year-old famous Russian specialist Sergey Nemchinov is completing a training camp in Minsk in preparation for the world championship in the third division (group "A"), which will be held from 19 to 26 April 2020 in Luxembourg. As already reported, before that, the two-time world and European champion, silver medalist of the winter Olympics-1998, as well as a two-time winner of the Stanley Cup as part of the American teams “New York Rangers” (1994) and "New Jersey Devils" (2000) twice came to Ashgabat for training with the national team. Did you manage to spot new candidates for the national team during the last Ashgabat training camp? With this question began a conversation of the correspondent "Turkmenportal" Sergey Nemchinov.
Yes, we have noted several new candidates. They are from "Galkan", "Oguzkhan" and "Shir". 3-4 people from these teams approximately.
Sergey Lvovich, what else did you manage to do in 10 days of collecting?
We managed to have a good training session with the children. About 40 children took to the ice and trained together. I think this is a very useful training for them and coaches who work with children. They saw some new exercises that they did not know before, gained good experience.
Is the future of the national team of Turkmenistan?
These are children who are engaged in hockey sports schools in Ashgabat.
What are the plans of the national team of Turkmenistan after the Minsk training camp?
In January, we have planned another two-week training camp in Ashgabat. Preparation of Turkmen hockey players for the world cup-2020 is going according to plan.
What are your impressions of the 2019 President's Cup of hockey in Turkmenistan?
I liked the atmosphere very much, especially during the matches. A lot of people, spectators. They strongly supported their teams in the big and small arenas. There were many interesting games, especially when there were equal rivals-such as "Shir", "Galkan", "Nesil".
The leader of Turkmen hockey "Galkan" could not make it to the final, losing in the group tournament for reaching the final to "Shir". Can we say that it was a surprise of this tournament?
I suppose so. I agree with you that no one expected such a result. In that match, the guys from “Shir” were set up better, they moved better, they were aimed at the opponent's goal and so they were successful.
In your opinion, it was an underestimation of the opponent from “Galkan”?
It is difficult to say what happened on the part of “Galkan”. The “Shir” team was better on the ice that day.
