The opening ceremony of the Turkish Junior Taekwondo Championship, held between 15-18 July 2026, was held in SİNOP.
The opening ceremony of the Turkish Junior Taekwondo Championship, held at Gazi Çelebi Sports Hall and attended by 1,300 athletes from 81 provinces, was attended by Sinop Governor Dr. Mustafa Özarslan, Sinop Mayor Metin Gürbüz, Sinop University Rector Prof. Dr. Şakir Taşdemir, Turkish Taekwondo Federation President Bahri Tanrıkulu, provincial protocol, club managers, coaches, referees, athletes and guests attended. The championship will continue on July 16 with competitions in the 45 and 36 kilogram categories for boys and 45, 50 and 27 kilograms for girls. On July 17, matches will be held in the 27, 40 and +57 kilogram categories for men and the 40 and +57 kilogram categories for girls. The organization will end on July 18 after the competitions in the 30 to 57 kilogram categories for men and women.
'WE WORK TO MAKE OUR CHILDREN BE BENEFICIAL PEOPLE FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR COUNTRY AND HUMANITY'
Stating that they are proud of all athlete children, Sinop Governor Dr. Mustafa Özarslan said, "In the Turkey Century Education Model, we have four main goals for our children and children to grow up and gain competence and skills. The first is to ensure their mental and academic development. The second is to raise them as emotionally and spiritually sound individuals. The third is to ensure that they are physically healthy individuals in every respect, as in this case, in terms of body health. The fourth is to make all our efforts and efforts to morally ensure that our children are good people who are beneficial to themselves, their families, their country, their homeland and humanity." "Our activities are in line with this goal," he said.
'EVERY ATHLETE BROTHER WHO COMES HERE HAS ALREADY COME SUCCESSFULLY'
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Turkish Taekwondo Federation President Bahri Tanrıkulu said, "Today, we will hold the Junior Turkish Taekwondo Championship in Sinop, one of the exceptional cities of our country with its historical and cultural beauties, with approximately 1200 athletes from 67 provinces and 546 clubs. Our athlete brothers selected here were entitled to compete in the Turkish Championship by placing in the top 16 in Ankara drafts, Istanbul provincial drafts, Eastern Group drafts and West Group drafts. "Every athlete brother who came has already arrived successfully. I kiss the eyes of my athletes and congratulate them," he said.
'TODAY'S KIDS WILL BE TOMORROW'S EUROPEAN, WORLD AND OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS'
World Taekwondo Champion Merve Dinçel Kavura stated that today's little ones will be tomorrow's European, even world, and perhaps Olympic champions, and said:
"I, too, have gone through these paths like my brothers competing here today. I competed in the juniors. As a sister who is now older and has many medals in her career, I have experienced every emotion they experienced. I also fought here, I was excited, I was stressed. These small tournaments are what created today's Merve. Our athlete brothers gain experience here. Thanks to our President, they participate in many interprovincial and international tournaments. First they prove themselves here, then they compete in international organizations. All of these lead to the real championship. "They may not be aware of this today because they are young, but their families and coaches are aware of it. All I can say now is that they are taking the right steps and this is how they will reach the real championship."
After the speeches, gifts were presented to the protocol members in memory of the day. During the continuation of the program, the medals were given to the winning athletes by the protocol members.