Young tennis players from Turkmenistan won medals in eight events at three Asian Tennis Federation international tournaments for players under 14 years of age held in Dushanbe. In doubles and singles, our compatriots won three gold, four silver, and one bronze medal, marking a remarkable 35^th anniversary of independence of the country and confirming the high level of work of the National Tennis Federation in developing a sports reserve.

Imilia Kambarova, Erkin Altyyev, and Sanjar Rejepov won medals as part of the Turkmenistan team.

The prestigious Category 2 competitions were held under the auspices of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF). Young men and women from seven countries took part in the competition: Cambodia, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, the USA, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The tournaments allowed participants to earn valuable ranking points and gain international experience before moving on to the next level – the world junior tour (WT).

The main hero among the young men on our team was Erkin Altyyev, who recorded five medals to his credit.

At the first international tournament, the ATF 14&U Somon Open, a seventh-grader from the Joint Turkmen-Russian School named after A.S. Pushkin won two silver medals.

In singles, the 4^th seed Altyyev confidently reached the final, winning three victories in a row: over Kazakhstan’s Timur Mun – 6:1, 6:2, Kyrgyzstan’s Alan Abdiyev – 6:3, 6:3, and compatriot Nazar Tugyyev – 6:2, 7:5. In the decisive match for gold, Erkin lost to number one seed of the tournament, Alexander Mikheichev of Cambodia, with a score of 3:6, 4:6. In the bronze medal match, Nazar Tugyyev lost to Kazakhstani Daniyal Akimgerey 0:6, 1:6 and took fourth place.

Erkin Altyyev won his second silver medal in the doubles competition together with Sanjar Rejepov, a 7^th-grade student from Ashgabat Specialised School № 27. The second-seeded Turkmen duo defeated the international pair of Doyoung An (Republic of Korea) / Imron Ismoilov (Tajikistan) in the quarterfinals with a score of 6:1, 6:0, and in the semi-finals they beat the tandem of Alan Abdukarimov (Kyrgyzstan) and Nasriddin Muhiddinov (Tajikistan) - 7:5, 6:1. In a tense final, the Turkmen team lost in a super tie-break to the top seeded duo of the tournament, Alexander Mikheichev (Cambodia) / Daniyal Akimgerey (Kazakhstan) – 6:4, 4:6, 6:10.

In the next tournament, the ATF 14&Under Dushanbe Cup, 5^th-seeded Erkin Altyyev won the silver medal. On his way to the final, he won successively against Alan Abdukarimov (Kyrgyzstan) – 6:1, 6:0, Imron Ismoilov (Tajikistan) – 6:0, 6:0, Timur Mun (Kazakhstan) – 6:4, 4:6, 6:1 and only in the decisive match for gold did he lose to the 4^th seeded Kazakhstani Daniyal Akimgerey – 1:6, 0:6.

In the third tournament, the ATF 14&Under Dushanbe Open, Erkin, seeded 3^rd, won two more medals: bronze in singles, defeating his compatriot Sanjar Rejepov in a tiebreak in the match for 3^rd place - 6:2, 7:6 (3), and gold in doubles together with Daniyal Akimgerey. On the way to this success, the Turkmen-Kazakh duo defeated Nasriddin Muhiddinov (Tajikistan) and Daniel Chepak (USA) in the semi-finals – 6:1, 6:2, and in the final they defeated another international pair of Andrey Gordeyev (Kazakhstan) and Davut Khudaiberdyev (Turkmenistan) – 6:4, 6:4.

Imilia Kambarova, a 7^th-grade student at the Specialised School № 27 of the capital, also performed well at tournaments in Tajikistan, winning two gold and one silver medal.

In the first tournament of the ATF 14&U Somon Open, the Turkmen tennis player, seeded 4^th, reached the final in singles, defeating three opponents from Kazakhstan: Diana Ermaganbet - 6:2, 6:1, Kamila Azizkyzy - 6:0, 6:0 and Aisha Hakim - 6:2, 6:1. Only in the decisive match for the title did Imilia lose to another representative of Kazakhstan, Sofi Kaltenova – 2:6, 2:6, winning the silver medal.

Kambarova managed to make up for her loss in the singles final in the doubles, where she won the gold medal in tandem with Raji Rachabattuni from India. Competing under the first seed, the Turkmen-Indian duo demonstrated absolute superiority over all their opponents, successively defeating three pairs from Kazakhstan.

The path to triumph began in the quarterfinals with a confident victory over Dayana Zhumanova and Sofia Muravyova – 6:2, 6:4. In the semi-final match, Kambarova and Rachabattuni left virtually no chance for Safiya Karymbayeva and Linara Kasymova, defeating their opponents with a score of 6:0, 6:1.

The decisive match for the gold medals was played with the top seeds having the complete advantage: Imilia and Raji again allowed their opponents, Yasmina Yusupova and Kamila Azizkyzy, to take only one game in the entire match, repeating the result of the semi-final (6:0, 6:1) and winning the main trophy of the competition.

At the next tournament, the ATF 14&Under Dushanbe Cup, Imilia Kambarova won her second gold medal in doubles, but this time in tandem with Milana Zaharova from Uzbekistan. To achieve this, the Turkmen-Uzbek pair had to beat three Kazakh duos: in the semi-finals they defeated Sofi Kaltenova / Linara Kasymova - 6:3, 6:2, in the semi-finals - Zhanel Elamanova / Sofia Zhulusheva - 6:1, 6:2, and in the final - the first-seeded Aruzhan Kaumenova / Madina Nabiulla - 6:1, 6:3.

The success of our young athletes is due to the painstaking work of their mentors. Erkin Altyyev and Imiliya Kambarova train under the guidance of Gurbanberdi Gurbanberdiyev and Yuriy Rogusskiy, while Sanjar Rejepov is improving his skills under the guidance of Yuriy Rogusskiy.