'Golden women' of Turkish sports pride of Republic

By Halil Ibrahim Avsar

Turkish women are becoming the pride of Turkish sports as they follow the path paved by Halet Cambel and Suat Fetgeri Aseni, who broke new ground by competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

- Olympic success

Hulya Senyurt, who won bronze at the 1990 European Juniors Judo Championships and silver at the 1991 European Juniors Judo Championships, made history by winning the first Olympic medal for the Republic of Türkiye at the 1992 Summer Games.

Nurcan Taylan won the first Olympic gold medal for Turkish women in weightlifting at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Seventeen years later, boxer Busenaz Surmeneli experienced the thrill of victory by winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics -- held in 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Taekwondo athlete Nur Tatar, who is a world and European champion, became the only Turkish female athlete to win a medal in back-to-back Games when she won silver at the 2012 London Olympics and bronze in Rio 2016.

Hamide Tosun won a bronze medal at Sydney 2000 in taekwondo and Azize Tanrikulu won silver in Beijing 2008.

Also at the Tokyo Olympics, Buse Naz Cakiroglu (Boxing) won a silver medal, while Yasemin Adar Yigit (Wrestling), Hatice Kubra Ilgun (Taekwondo) and Merve Coban (Karate) each won bronze medals.

Neslihan Yigit Arin in badminton, Cagla Buyukakcay in tennis, Ilke Ozyuksel in modern pentathlon and Goksu Uctas Sanli in gymnastics became the first athletes to represent the Republic of Türkiye.

- 'Sultans of the Net' become European champions on 100th anniversary of Republic

Turkish National Women's Volleyball Team made Türkiye proud by reaching the championship in the FIVB Nations League, CEV European Championship and 2024 Paris Olympics Qualifiers, in the 100th anniversary of the Republic.

"The Sultans of the Net" won their maiden gold medal at the 2023 FIVB Nations League by beating China 3 - 1 in the final and rose to 1st place in the world rankings for the first time.

Also in 2023, they clinched the CEV European Championship trophy for the first time by defeating Serbia 3-2 in the final.

Türkiye became champions by winning all the matches they played at the 2024 Paris Olympics Qualifiers in Japan in the same year.

- Yasemin Adar Yigit, woman of firsts in Turkish wrestling

Yasemin Adar Yigit brought Türkiye its first women's gold medal in history at the European Championship held in Riga, Latvia, in 2016.

Afterward, Yigit won five more European titles along with two World championships.

She also clinched bronze in the 76kg category at Tokyo 2020.

Buse Tosun Cavusoglu, who later took the flag in Turkish women's wrestling, won gold in the women's 68kg weight class at the 2023 World Wrestling Championship.

- WTA and Grand Slam championships

Tennis player Cagla Buyukakcay won a historic championship at the 2016 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.

Buyukakcay became the first Turk to win the championship in WTA tournaments by defeating Montenegrin Danka Kovinic in the final.

Former player Ipek Soylu became Türkiye's first grand slam title winner by winning the Girls' doubles, with her Swiss partner Jil Belen Teichmann, at the 2014 US Open.

- Women's taekwondo

Zeliha Agris won a gold medal at the age of 19 in the 53kg category at the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, South Korea.

Agris later bagged a gold medal in the 53kg category at the 2022 European Taekwondo Championships.

Former taekwondo athlete Irem Yaman became the first Turkish female athlete to win the world championship twice by winning gold in 62 kg at the World Taekwondo Championships in Russia in 2015 and then in England in 2019.

Yaman, who also has two European championships, was awarded the most successful female athlete of 2018 by the World Taekwondo Federation.

- Sahika Ercumen's diving world record on the 100th anniversary of Republic of Türkiye

Turkish freediver Sahika Ercumen set a new world record by diving 106 meters (348 feet) into the Turkish Mediterranean in the field of variable weight with no fins, during her attempt in Hatay, which was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye.

Ercumen also broke the Turkish record by diving 100 meters in 3 minutes and 14 seconds at the World Freediving Cup in Blue Hole in the Bahamas.

- Paralympic champions

Gizem Girismen won gold in archery at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and became the first Turkish female athlete to win gold in the history of the Paralympic Games.

Weightlifter Nazmiye Muratli won gold at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games.

Türkiye National Goalball Team became champions at the Rio 2016 and 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Sumeyye Boyaci and Sevilay Ozturk both won world and European championships in Paralympic swimming.

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp