National taekwondo athletes' new goal is the world championship

Safiye Yalçın, 43, who teaches physical education at Mustafa Paşa Secondary School in the Gebze district, and her former student from the secondary school, 16-year-old Nilda Aytekin, a student at Şehit Öğretmen Necmeddin Kuyucu Anatolian High School, competed in the European Taekwondo Poomsae Championship held in Estonia on April 16-17.

In the organization, Safiye Yalçın won gold medals in the women's 41-50 age group individual and women's 31-50 age group team categories, while Nilda Aytekin was at the top of the podium in the young girls' team category.

Yalçın and Aytekin, who continue their training together in Gebze, want to repeat their success in the World Championship to be held next year.

"WE CAME TO OUR COUNTRY WITH 3 GOLD MEDALS"

Safiye Yalçın stated that she has been doing taekwondo for 30 years and that she has been serving the sport voluntarily in Gebze for 10 years.

Yalçın stated that he competed against tough opponents in Estonia and that his Spanish opponent made it hard for him in the final match, but he was the winner.

Yalçın expressed his pride in having the Turkish flag raised and the National Anthem sung twice in Estonia, and emphasized that his achievements were not coincidental.

Yalçın, who stated that they worked hard and made plans for the future after discovering talented children, said, "Nilda became the European champion in the youth girls team category. We had planned this 2-3 years in advance. Thank God, we progressed in a planned and programmed manner, we were patient, we fought, sometimes we got injured, sometimes our morale was broken, sometimes we got bored, but we did not give up, we did not give up. She also honored both our country, her family and me. My student and I came to our country with 3 gold medals. We focused on our new goals. The World Championship will be held in 2026, I hope I will work harder and bring the gold medal to my country there as well."

Nilda Aytekin also stated that she has been doing taekwondo for 8 years and that she was happy to become European champion in Estonia.

Nilda, who stated that she and her teammates achieved the result by defeating tough opponents, said , "My goal is to compete on behalf of the national team in the World Championship to be held in 2026 and achieve good results."