In Ashgabat, as part of the international exhibition-fair “Kids Expo 2025: Everything for Children,” mental arithmetic competitions were held, bringing Turkmenistan a resounding victory: three schoolchildren set new world records, showcasing phenomenal mental calculation skills.
The event was organized by the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan in collaboration with the country’s educational centers. A total of 116 students aged 6 to 14 from all regions of the country participated in the intellectual competition.
Rovach Begendzhov, a ten-year-old student from Specialized Secondary School No. 28 with an in-depth focus on exact and natural sciences in Turkmenabat, Lebap province, broke the world record in the category of “Fastest Mental Addition.” On his first attempt, he correctly added 100 random single-digit numbers three times in just 15.58 seconds, surpassing the previous record set by Omer Yigit Agma from Türkiye in 2016 (18.91 seconds).
“I had 10 attempts to set the record. In the very first try, I managed to complete three stages of addition in 15.58 seconds. When I realized it was a world record, my heart was beating very fast,” shared Rovach.
He expressed gratitude to his teacher, Meylis Jelilov, from the educational center ‘Kämil bilim’ for teaching him rapid calculation techniques and supporting him in preparation for the championship.
“I dream of continuing to develop my abilities and bringing new victories to Turkmenistan,” he added.
No less impressive was the result achieved by Ali Orashov, a 14-year-old student from Balkanabat. In the discipline of “Rapid Flash Anzan,” he successfully processed 150 two-digit numbers that appeared on the screen at intervals of just 0.3 seconds.
The honorary guest of the competition was the world-renowned Turkish expert in memory and intellectual development, Melik Duyar, founder of the organization ‘Mega Hafıza.’ He is a Guinness World Record holder, world champion in image memorization, and one of the founders of the World Federation of Intellectual Sports, MEMORIAD.