Turkish athletes bag medals in Paralympic sports

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish paralympic athletes claimed 21 medals -- including five gold -- last week during international tournaments.

Turkish athletes won four gold and of a total of 11 medals at the European Para table tennis Championships, held in Sweden's Helsingborg.

Two Turkish athletes, Abdullah Ozturk and Nesim Turan, met in the men's class four category final.

Ozturk won the gold by beating Turan 3-2 in the final, said in a statement by the Turkish Sports Federation for the Physically Disabled.

In addition, Nesim Turan, Merve Cansu Demir and Kubra Korkut won silver while Ali Ozturk, Umran Ertis and Neslihan Kavas won the bronze in the single's during the tournament.

The Turkish team, with Ali Ozturk, Hamza Caliskan and Ahmet Nihat Yildirim, defeated France 2-0 in the men's class five to claim the gold.

Another Turkish team, in which Abdullah Ozturk, Nesim Turan and Suleyman Vural beat Poland 2-0 in the men's class four also won the gold.

In the women's class 9-10, Turkey, with Umran Ertis, Merve Cansu Demir and Neslihan Kavas, also defeated Poland 2-0 and won the gold.

Busra Un won in the women's single tennis, at the Madainitennis Wheelchair Tennis Open after beating Ukrainian Olena Shyngaryova, Czech Ladislava Porizkova and Austrian Vanessa Jenewein 2-0.

The tournament was held in St. Poelten, Austri.

Two Turkish women swimmers also won medals at the World Para Swimming Championships 2019.

Sumeyye Boyaci finished the 50-meter backstroke in 44.74 seconds at the championships held in London, bagging the silver medal.

Sevilay Ozturk, another Turkish paralympic swimmer, won the bronze in the tournament.

Turkish athletes with down syndrome, Ebru Acer and Sumeyra Turk, captured two silver medals at the ITTF-PTT European Para Table Tennis Championship.

They became the first Turkish women athletes to win a silver medal in the organization's history.

Separately, Turkish athletes won in a total of 10 medals at the International Para Badminton Championships held in Bangkok, Thailand.