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Cavit Sengun, 62, a coach from Karabuk who took up badminton after the age of 45 and went on to achieve national success while also helping hearing-impaired athletes reach the national team, is aiming to bring home a medal from the European Veterans Badminton Championship in Italy.
Sengun, a fourth-level badminton coach who previously focused on volleyball and football, discovered badminton after turning 45 and went on to win Turkish championships as well as third place at the Balkan championships.
Throughout his coaching career, Sengun has trained hearing-impaired national athletes, guiding Hale Nur Kucuksevgili to a European runner-up finish in Lithuania and Furkan Buyukgoze to a world runner-up finish in Brazil.
Sengun, who won first place in the men's singles +60 category and finished second in the mixed +55 category with partner Imran Dogan at the Veterans Türkiye Badminton Championship held in Trabzon from Aug. 26-29, is continuing preparations for the European Championship, set to take place in Cagliari, Italy, from Sept. 19-26.
Cavit Sengun said that alongside coaching, he has also competed as an athlete in the veterans category for many years.
Noting that he has taken part in badminton competitions for around 15 years, Sengun said he trained Hale Nur Kucuksevgili, a hearing-impaired athlete who went on to achieve national success.
"Hale Nur and I achieved a European ranking in Lithuania," he said, adding that he was her coach when she earned a European runner-up finish there. He noted that, most recently as a coach, he and Furkan Buyukgoze took second place at the world championship in Brazil, calling it "one of the great achievements made by us, by our country."
Noting that he continues to coach Hale Nur Kucuksevgili, Sengun pointed out that there used to be no sport called badminton in Türkiye and that he only started the sport after turning 45.
He said he had previously been involved in branches like volleyball and football, and that it was while engaged in those branches that he discovered badminton and made the switch.
Cavit Sengun noted that he earns rankings every year in the men's singles, mixed and men's doubles categories, and that while he holds a Balkan third-place finish, he has not managed to place at the European and world championships he has taken part in.
Saying that he continues his preparations to represent Türkiye in the best possible way, Sengun said competitors need to be quite strong, noting that a large number of athletes take part in his categories in Europe.
According to what he has heard, close to 2,500 participants are expected, making the task quite difficult. He said that, unfortunately, his peers in Türkiye do not show much interest in the sport because they are unfamiliar with it and did not play it in their childhood years, but that the situation is different in Europe, where tough rivals await.
"God willing, I'll try to place there," he said. "If I can come back with a medal, that would be good." He added that winning the championship outright feels somewhat like a dream but said he would wait to see how things unfold.
"God willing, if luck is on our side and things go well, coming back with a ranking would bring me great happiness; it would mean I brought a medal to our country."
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