17-year-old Turkmen athlete Gurbannazar Amandurdyev took second place on the podium at the 24^th Asian Karate Championships among cadets, juniors, and athletes under 21, held in Amman.

The prestigious Asian Karate Federation (AKF) tournament brought together 338 strongest athletes of the world from 21 countries in the capital of Jordan, competing for medals in the disciplines of kata (formal exercises) and kumite (combat). The Turkmen delegation at the championship is represented by three athletes and one international category judge.

Gurbannazar Amandurdyyev won a silver medal in the kumite discipline among juniors under 17 years old in the 55 kg weight category. This success marked another important step in the career of the young star: a year earlier, at the previous junior continental championship in Shaoguan, China, he won bronze.

Gurbannazar has been practicing his favourite martial art since childhood. He won his first international trophy back in January 2020 at a tournament in Türkiye, where he won silver in the under-10 category (in the 30 kg weight class).

In recent years, the Turkmen karateka has regularly been among the prize winners at major regional and world competitions. At the World Karate Youth League 1 tournaments held under the auspices of the World Karate Federation (WKF) in Fujairah (UAE), he twice won bronze in the 55 kg category – first in February 2024, and then in February 2026 in the 16-17 age group.

Today, Gurbannazar is a 12^th-grader at specialised secondary school № 16 in the Ak bugday etrap of the Ahal velayat. He is honing his athletic skills under the guidance of the head coach of the Turkmenistan national team, Aydyn Charyyev.

Thanks to his consistently high results, the young athlete is among the top contenders for participation in the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in the capital of Senegal, Dakar, from the 31^st of October to 13^th of November, 2026.