Şeref Eroğlu: “We anticipated winning 4 medals in Paris.”

The President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, Seref Eroglu, stated that they anticipate winning 4 medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but the performance exhibited so far is not sufficient.

During a breakfast organization with members of the press, Seref Eroglu evaluated the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, emphasizing that it has not gone well for Turkish sports. He said, “I hope that federations and our ministry have drawn the necessary lessons from this situation. Turkish wrestling is a branch that carries the banner of the Olympics. We are a branch that has won 66 of the 111 medals Turkey has won at the Olympics. In these Olympics, we won a total of 8 medals, with 2 bronze medals in wrestling. It is portrayed as if there is a failure in wrestling. I congratulate all the athletes who have worked hard, sweat, and won medals. Taha Akgül, who is 34 years old and at the end of his sports life, lost his gold medal due to the referee’s attitude. Besides Taha, Buse Çavuşoğlu also won a bronze medal. Riza Kayaalp lost his chance for the final due to an unfortunate incident. Motivating athletes over the age of 30 is not an easy task. We were anticipating winning 4 medals here. 25% of the 8 medals won belong to Turkish wrestling. As the president who has made it to the finals at the Olympic Games, it is not correct to call this a success, but expectations have risen. Since 2022, we have achieved so many things that were deemed impossible, we have done everything that was said couldn’t be done,” he stated.

“In the new period, we will lay the foundations for 2032 and 2036”
Stating that they have achieved significant successes in world and European championships since 2022 and that expectations have risen, Eroglu said, “The preparation period for the Olympic Games takes at least 4-6 years. I have been president for 2.5 years. The 2 bronze medals we won at the Olympics did not satisfy us at all. We had hope that we would win 2 or more gold medals. European wrestling is in decline. There is a rise in Asian wrestling. We need to learn lessons. Our goal is to develop the pool of wrestlers for the 2028 and 2032 Olympic Games. I hope that as stakeholders of the sport, we think about where we went wrong and find the right path. We definitely have shortcomings. We should have started working on the day the Paris 2024 Olympic Games ended. 4 years will pass quickly. In the new period, we will lay the foundations for 2032 and 2036 with the youth,” he stated.

“Our biggest deficiency is the lack of coaches”
Conveying that they are experiencing a lack of coaches in Turkish wrestling, Seref Eroglu stated, “I think the Turkey Olympic Preparation Centers (TOHM) are not at the level we want. There are 1,500 people living in the TOHM, there is an army of wrestlers. In my opinion, the work done has not yielded results. There were no athletes competing in the Olympics among the 1,500 people. The best coaches need to be placed in the TOHM. This is also a deficiency on our part. The biggest deficiency in wrestling is the lack of coaches. When I took office, I parted ways with all the foreigners. Now I am considering bringing foreign coaches again,” he evaluated.

“We want to continue on our path”
Eroglu emphasized that they have accomplished significant tasks since they took office, stating, “I do my job with belief and love. We want to continue on our path. We took over the management with debt. I have paid off a large part of the debt. The first 1-1.5 years were spent just paying off debts. There were those who wanted to pull us out of the wrestling mat. I have never wrestled illegally in any period of my life. We tried to do our job while remaining on the mat. I will continue like this.”