April 28 in Sofia (Bulgaria) ended the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division III. Sports competition in ice hockey under the auspices of the IIHF, held from April 22 to April 28, 2019 at the ice arena of the Winter Palace sports complex.

At the end of the tournament, the Bulgarian team won the first place and won the right to play in Group B of the second division of the 2020 IIHF World Championship. Bulgarian forward Miroslav Vasilev scored 16 points and scored 10 goals, becoming the best player of the championship. The South African hockey team finished last.

6 national teams took part in the championship - three from Asia, two from Europe and one from Africa. The national team of Luxembourg came from the second division. Note that the national hockey team of Turkmenistan participated in the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division III for the first time.

Turkmen hockey players ranked third in the final standings, having achieved a historic event, after five games scored seven points. On the final day of the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division III, the team of Turkmenistan lost to the Turkish team in a stubborn fight (5:4). In another match, Bulgaria national team defeated Luxembourg national team (7: 0), and South Africa team finally beat Taiwan team (9:7).

In 2017, the Turkmenistan national team won a convincing victory in the second division of the Asian Winter Games, held in the Japanese city of Sapporo. This provided access to the first division of the next Asian Winter Games, which will be held in 2021 in China. We also note the victory of the Turkmen istan team at last year's qualifying tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which allowed our team to reach the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division III in Sofia for the first time.

In 2020, the Turkmen hockey squad will compete for an increase in class, instead of the Bulgarian team there will be the DPR Korea team, and instead of South Africa there will be the United Arab Emirates, whose level of play is slightly lower.

In the Era of Power and Happiness, Turkmen sport demonstrates the high level of training of Turkmen athletes not only at the national, but also at the international level. This became possible thanks to the distinguished President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, at whose initiative modern sports complexes for winter sports were built in the country. Not only national competitions of various levels are held under their arches, but also international ones, where athletes demonstrate a high class of the game.

Standings