Winning at home a big deal for Traditional Wrestler

With the Ashgabat 2017 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games just days away, Toylymyrat Durdymyradov knows that it will be a special time not just for him but also for his country and he wants to do it proud.

The native of Ahal, who will turn 20 during the Games, said he started to wrestle when he was about 11 years old.

“I saw Traditional Wrestling for the first time at a Turkmen wedding,” he said. “I liked it very much and I've wanted to wrestle ever since. That was eight years ago. Now, I am one of the best in my country.”

And that he is. Toylymyrat, whose father and grandfather were amateur Traditional Wrestlers, is the current national champion in the -68kg weight category. On top of that acheivement, he also won a World Championship event in Kazakhstan in 2016 and placed third in the Asian Championships in Ashgabat the same year.

The teenager, who will also compete in Belt Wrestling, said the anticipation among the team has been growing in recent weeks.

“We have been waiting for this competition in Ashgabat for seven years now,” he said. “I'm excited. Everyone is excited about these Games. We all want to fly the Turkmen flag.”

Each day he is reminded that the event is getting closer. In mid August, he got to try on the competition uniform for the first time.