Dhi Qar Alpagut club eyes international titles

DHI QAR — The Suq Al-Shuyukh Sports Club in southern Dhi Qar province is intensively training for upcoming Alpagut combat sport challenges with aspirations for international recognition.

Recently, the club’s youth team secured first place at the Iraq Clubs Championship in Baghdad and achieved commendable results in competitions held in Iran.

Despite these achievements, financial limitations have impeded the club’s participation in a tournament in Turkey.

The club’s management underscored the insufficient support for the sport, which was introduced in Iraq in 2019 following the establishment of the World Alpagut Federation in 2014. Alpagut integrates a range of modern and ancient combat techniques inspired by the heritage of ancient nomadic Turkic peoples in Central Asia.

Murshid Al-Saedi, president of Suq Al-Shuyukh Sports Club, told 964media, “Our youth team in Alpagut secured the top position at the Iraq championship through the effort of the players and administrative staff.”

He added, “Our efforts are self-funded, without government grants for two years, yet we persist in training and aiming for more victories,” Al-Saedi said.

Mustafa Fadhel, coach of Suq Al-Shuyukh Club, informed 964media that in this year’s Iraq championship, the club entered six players, who claimed first place and six gold medals amidst competition from 23 clubs and 400 athletes representing all provinces.

Fadhel noted, “Individuals with backgrounds in martial arts are register with us after seeing our social media posts. Training is scheduled four days a week.” He continued, “Following our national triumph, we are now setting our sights on competing in Asian and world championships.”