Turkmen freestyle wrestler Alp Arslan Begenjov (weight category up to 79 kg) won the qualifying round of the World Youth Wrestling Championships, which is taking place in Samokov, Bulgaria.
In the first fight, the Turkmen athlete defeated Bulgarian Ivan Andonov with a score of 11:0. In the 1/8 finals, Begenjov's opponent will be Mongolian wrestler Gan-Erdene Baatarkhuu.
Other representatives of the Turkmenistan team performed less successfully. Watan Annaorazov (74 kg) lost in the qualification to Russian wrestler Ismail Khaniyev with a score of 0:10. Orazmuhammet Hojalyev (92 kg) also failed to reach the 1/8 finals, losing to Azerbaijani athlete Anar Jafarli with a score of 2:3.
Begenjov is considered one of the main favorites of the tournament. In 2024, he made history in Turkmen sports by becoming the first ever world champion among juniors under 20 from Turkmenistan. At the championship in Pontevedra, Spain, he won five victories with a total score of 46:0, without conceding a single point from his opponents.
