Karate athletes who were not selected for the Olympics have entered a training camp in Manisa

Evaluating the absence of karate, the sport in which Turkey won the most medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, national athlete and Olympic silver medalist Eray Şamdan stated that the place of karate is in the Olympics and that they will achieve significant successes if karate is re-included in future Olympics.

The Murat Eşsiz Olympic Karate Summer Camp, held in Manisa, continues with the participation of important figures in karate and over 100 athletes from different provinces at the Muradiye Sports Hall. The camp, organized by the Manisa Provincial Youth and Sports Directorate and the Karate Provincial Representation, also includes Olympic silver medalist Eray Şamdan and karate referees Uğur Kobaş and Rıza Erdoğan, who share their experiences with young athletes. Karate Coach Ali Eşsiz noted that the camp has been very productive and mentioned that they will organize a tournament in the name of Murat Eşsiz over the weekend.

Olympic referee Uğur Kobaş, who came to Manisa for the camp, stated, “I believe that tournaments of this kind have been held in the name of our coach Murat Eşsiz for 3-4 years now. This year, to further enhance the efficiency of our athletes and contribute, a summer training camp was organized with the support of the Manisa Provincial Youth Sports Directorate and the Karate Provincial Representation, with the participation of athletes from other provinces. We were kindly invited by our Olympic silver medalist Eray Şamdan. Coach Rıza Erdoğan is also here. As a referee who officiated at the Olympics, I am here as well. We are sharing our experiences with the athletes. It’s a very productive camp. I am very happy to be here. The sparkle in our children’s eyes and their eagerness to learn give hope for the future. I would like to thank the provincial directorate, the Karate Provincial Representation, and the supporting clubs.”

“The absence of karate in the Olympics is a loss for global sports.”
Kobaş emphasized that karate was Turkey’s most medal-winning sport with 4 medals at the Tokyo Olympics, stating, “Karate was included in the Tokyo Olympics for the first time. For karate to be included in future games, the host country needed to select karate again. They made a decision that is right for them but wrong for global sports. France chose three sports they can win medals in; street basketball, breakdancing, etc., but they did not choose karate. Personally, we are saddened. We participated in the Tokyo Olympics for the first time. I believe we won’t be able to participate in the next 2-3 Olympics either, but our struggle continues. In my opinion, karate is a mass sport. It is a sport embraced by many countries, practiced widely. Its absence in the Paris Olympics is, in my opinion, a loss not only for the countries involved but also for global sports. We broke records at the Tokyo Olympics with 13 medals, 4 of which were in karate. We had accumulated the most medals in karate. This was a great pride and publicity for us. We can see the positive reflections of this here. Even in a 2-3 day camp, there are over 100 athletes. This is the case in every region. We have seen very positive reflections from this. We continue to achieve beautiful successes in international competitions.”

Rıza Erdoğan: “The place of karate is in the Olympics.”
Karate referee Rıza Erdoğan, who participated in the camp, evaluated the absence of karate in the Olympics as follows: “Our sport has long deserved to be in the Olympics, but for some reason, we were not included, and they chose more problematic sports. They did not include karate because of the fighting aspect, but the place of karate is in the Olympics. We would be very successful there. It is a sport in which we are very successful in the world and Europe. Hopefully, we will be included in future Olympics. This is a very good camp. It is very important that this happens not only in Manisa but everywhere. Our Olympic silver medalist Eray Şamdan is providing information in terms of training. Our referee Uğur, who is an Olympic referee and also on the European and World boards, is providing refereeing knowledge. I am also helping due to my past experiences. Our athletes are very happy. We have been having very good training sessions for the past two days. We are teaching them all the refereeing rules in practice. This is the first time such a thing is being done.”

Eray Şamdan: “I want to be a legendary name in Turkish karate.”
National karate athlete Eray Şamdan, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, stated, “I brought a silver medal to our country by coming in second in the last Olympics. There is no karate in Paris 2024. It would have been great if there was, and we would have achieved significant successes. Hopefully, it will be a sport that appears in the Olympics again in the future. We came here for the camp. I used to come to Manisa frequently since my childhood. As a national athlete, we want to share our knowledge and experiences with our younger brothers here. We are working to improve the quality of children in Turkey and to represent us better abroad. We have upcoming European and World Championships where we want to place our country at the highest levels and have our national anthem sung. My main goal is to become a legendary name in Turkish karate. I continue to work towards that direction. “