Turkish wrestling teams prepare in Kastamonu for major tournaments

The Senior Freestyle Wrestling National Team and the Under-23 National Wrestling Team are carrying out their preparations in Kastamonu for the tournaments they will participate in.

The Senior Freestyle Wrestling National Team is continuing its preparations at the Kastamonu Camp Training Center for the Senior European Championships to be held in April, while the Under-23 National Team is preparing for the Under-23 World Championships scheduled for October, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

The camp, which will end on Sunday, April 5, includes a total of 45 athletes from both teams.

Head coach of the Senior Freestyle National Team, Soner Demirtaş, told Anadolu Agency that both teams are preparing together for international championships.

Demirtaş stated that they returned from the Under-23 European Championships before Eid al-Fitr, where they won five medals. Ahmet Yağan (86 kg) and Fatih Altunbaş (92 kg) won silver medals, while Tolga Özbek (61 kg), Metehan Yaprak (79 kg), and Hakan Büyükçıngıl (125 kg) secured bronze medals.

“The European Championship went well for us. We narrowly missed a few finals. Four of our medal-winning athletes will also compete in the Senior European Championships,” he said.

Explaining that both teams are training together, Demirtaş added:

“There is the Senior European Championship in Tirana, Albania, from April 20 to 26. That’s why we returned to camp immediately after the holiday. We are primarily preparing for that. The Under-23 team is training alongside us and supporting each other. Although their European Championship has ended, they are now preparing for the World Championship in the autumn.”

Demirtaş also noted that there will be one final training camp before the Senior European Championships:

“Our squad is almost complete. We have determined most of the weight categories, except for a few. We will finalize the squad in the coming days. With form training in our fifth camp, we will be fully ready for the championship. We believe our athletes will represent our country in the best possible way. We are confident that both our technical team and athletes will compete at the highest level.”