Athletes from Turkmenistan won one gold and one bronze medal at the international Karate One Youth League tournament, part of the World Karate Series, held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

The competition, organized under the auspices of the World Karate Federation (WKF), brought together 790 athletes from 58 countries, who competed for medals in age categories ranging from 12 to 20 years old.

According to the Karatedo Federation of Turkmenistan, the national team was represented at the tournament by four athletes, one coach, and three international-level referees.

The gold medal in the junior kumite competition (ages 16–17) in the under-55 kg weight category was won by Rayan Gurbanmyradov, a 12th-grade student at Specialized Secondary School No. 52 in Ashgabat.

The bronze medal in the same discipline was awarded to Alimuhammet Kakalyev, a 10th-grade student at Specialized Secondary School No. 61 in Ashgabat, who competed in the cadet category (ages 14–15) in the under-57 kg weight class. Both athletes train with the national team under the guidance of Aydyn Charyyev, a holder of a 5th Dan black belt.

For A. Kakalyev, this was not his first success at these prestigious competitions. In 2024, he twice climbed onto the third step of the podium in the under-55 kg category among athletes under 14 years of age at Karate One Youth League events held in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, and La Coruña, Spain.

Earlier this year, in February, another student of Aydyn Charyyev, Gurbannazar Amandurdyyev, an 11th-grade student at Specialized Secondary School No. 16 in Ak Bugday etrap, Ahal velayat, also won a bronze medal in kumite at the Karate One Youth League tournament in Fujairah, UAE. He achieved this result in the under-55 kg weight category among junior athletes aged 16–17.