The team of Turkmenistan will participate in the 2022 international tournament in memory of Naim Suleymanoglu, which will be held on November 15-17 in Ankara.
The Turkmen delegation, which will travel to the capital of Türkiye, will include 8 people (5 athletes, 2 coaches, 1 referee), reports Orient.
The first international tournament in memory of Naim Suleymanoglu was held in 2019.
One of the greatest weightlifters in history, Naim Suleymanoglu, died on November 18, 2017 in Türkiye.
Before repatriation to Türkiye, the athlete played for the Bulgarian national team under the name Naum Shalamanov. As part of the Bulgarian national team, Shalamanov twice became the world champion in the bantamweight category. After the 1986 World Championships, the weightlifter moved to Türkiye, where he accepted the citizenship of this country and changed his name. Already being a representative of Türkiye, Naim Suleymanoglu became the Olympic champion three times - in 1988, 1992 and 1996. In addition, he won five more world champion gold medals. Thus, Naim Suleymanoglu was the most titled athlete in the history of weightlifting.
