Became the champion of Turkey among 2,000 athletes

11-year-old middle school student Ayşegül Şahin, who became the Turkish champion in the inter-school arm wrestling branch, dedicated her championship to her father who passed away a year ago. Competing among 2,000 athletes at the Inter-School Minors Turkish Arm Wrestling Championship held in Ankara on April 26-28, Ayşegül Şahin became the Turkish champion in the 50 kg category for both right and left arms. The young athlete dedicated her championship victory to her father who passed away a year ago and played a significant role in her success.

Ayşegül Şahin, a 5th-grade student at Atatürk Middle School, stated, ‘Our physical education teacher created a four-year project for us at school. Talented 5th and 6th-grade students were selected for the arm wrestling team. I became the captain of this team. Our goal, our dream was to become the Turkish champions. My current goal is to become the European and World champion and have our National Anthem played. I would like to thank my teacher and my family who prepared me during this process. I really wanted my late father to see this championship. His absence weighs heavily on me. He was my soul, and I would have loved for him to see these days. The girl did not give up on life, fought, and became the Turkish champion. I miss you so much, my dear father.’

Vice Principal Yakup Gökçek said, ‘Our school had previously achieved some successes in different branches within the province. In addition, with the appointment of our physical education teacher to duty this year, the focus shifted a bit more towards arm wrestling, his field of expertise. He created an area in our school where arm wrestling could be practiced. He mostly tried to do this with his own means. Sometimes, he conducted more work and activities with the children outside of school hours. We reaped the rewards of these efforts in approximately 3-4 months. At the Minors Arm Wrestling Turkish Championship held in Ankara last month, in a tournament where seven students participated, two of our students returned as Turkish champions.’

Physical Education Teacher Erdem Çelik, mentioning that 4 out of 9 athletes became Turkish champions and runners-up, stated, ‘In 2024, nine of my athletes became Turkish champions in arm wrestling. Representing Kilis, at the Minors Turkish Wrestling Championship held in Ankara, two of my athletes became Turkish champions while two became runners-up. Our goal was the championship, and by practicing six days a week, we achieved our goal. Our next goal is to become champions among clubs and have our National Anthem played at the European and World Championships.’