Turkish wrestler Soner Demirtas won the gold medal in the European Wrestling Championship after beating his French counterpart Zelimkhan Khadjiev in the Russian city of Kaspiysk on Sunday.
Demirtas became a gold medalist for the third time in a row when he beat Khadjiev 2 - 0 in the men's freestyle 70 - kilogram category.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Demirtas said he wanted to dedicate this medal to his family.
"Because my father had a dream when I started wrestling. He wanted to see [me as] a champion, " said Demirtas.
Later, another Turkish athlete Taha Akgul also won a gold medal in the same tournament.
Akgul clinched the victory beating his Georgian competitor Geno Petriashvili in the men’s freestyle 125 - kilogram category in the final match of the tournament.
He led the game 1 - 0 in the first set of the game in the Ali Aliyev Sport Complex and won the competition 2 - 1.
With Sunday’s victory, the national wrestler of Turkey repeated his record in the European championship for the sixth time.
Akgul told Anadolu Agency the victory was a revenge against his Georgian rival to whom he had lost the World Cup last year.
"I had lost the World Championship to the same athlete in a dramatic way. I had to win in the return match. I had promised to my country, to the nation, to our coaches, especially to our President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan]. He was also very upset. ”
Source: Anadolu Agency
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