Turkish athletes cap unforgettable week, dominating competitions

Turkish athletes' solid efforts lead to spots on podium in both individual and team games

By Erkan Tiryaki

ANKARA (AA) - Last week went down in Turkish sports history as athletes from the country brought home a slew of accolades from competitions across the globe.

Marking the third time a Turkish club lifted Europe's most prestigious basketball trophy, Anadolu Efes defeated Real Madrid on Saturday to become the 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions.

This was also the second time in a row that the Istanbul side finished the top-tier European league in.

- VakifBank top of European Volleyball

VakifBank Women's Volleyball Team made history as it clinched the CEV Champions League Volley title for the fifth time.

The Turkish team claimed a 3-1 win over their Italian opponents Carraro Imoco Conegliano at the final match in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.

VakifBank had previously won the trophy in 2011, 2013, 2017, and 2018 -- the lion's share of the total seven titles that Turkish teams claimed in the last 11 seasons.

- Women's national boxing team

The Turkish National Women's Boxing Team astounded spectators as they won five gold and two bronze medals at the IBA World Women’s Boxing Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey on May 8-20.

The Women's Boxing Team was crowned champion of World Boxing Championships with these medals.

Ayse Cagirir, Buse Naz Cakiroglu, Busenaz Surmeneli, Hatice Akbas, and Sennur Demir took home golds, while Sema Caliskan and Elif Guneri won bronze medals.

- A big success for European Taekwondo Championships

More resounding success was in the in European Taekwondo Championships and European Para-Taekwondo Open Championships, with the Turkish teams winning 19 medals in total, including nine gold, five silver, and five bronze medals.

Turkish para-athletes earned four gold medals over the three-day event. Nurcihan Ekinci, Gamze Gurdal, Alican Ozcan, and Mahmut Bozteke were among the gold medalists.

Merve Dincel, Zeliha Agris, Hatice Kubra Ilgun, Hakan Recber, and Emre Kutalmis Atesli climbed to the top of the podium at the European Taekwondo Championships.

In addition to these achievements, Turkiye came first in two different categories at the European Rowing Under-19 Championships, held in Varese, Italy.

Etimesgut Amputee Sport Club beat Poland's Wisla Krakow 5-2 to claim the European Amputee Champions League.

Turkiye also won 25 gold, 25 silver, and 42 bronze medals in the World School Sport Games, organized by International School Sport Federation

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