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National badminton players from Erzincan are targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after a dominant, gold-medal performance at the 20th Mediterranean Games in Italy.
Erzincan-born athletes Emre Sonmez, Yasemen Bektas, Bengisu Ercetin, and Nazli Can Inci secured top honors by defeating their opponents across three distinct categories: women's doubles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles.
Following their historic success, the athletes have returned home and are training intensively six days a week at the KYK Sports Hall. Under the guidance of national team coaches Murat Sonmez and Ugur Ercetin, the squad is focused on maintaining top form in upcoming international competitions to secure their Olympic qualification quotas.
Emre Sonmez said that the team was happy to have finished the Mediterranean Games successfully, and that they were proud to have had the Turkish national anthem played in Italy.
By winning two gold medals for the country, he said, they had represented both Türkiye and Erzincan in the best way possible, adding that the team was very happy about this.
Sonmez said the athletes are currently in the Olympic qualification process and preparing for the Olympics, noting, "We want to prepare as well as possible in training camps and get good results to represent our country in the best way possible." He added that the team will compete abroad, saying, "If we get good results in quota and ranking tournaments, we will go to Los Angeles."
Yasemen Bektas said that the gold medal they won in mixed doubles was important to them, emphasizing that their goal is to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
National athlete Bengisu Ercetin also said the team was happy about their success. "Our biggest goal is the Olympics," she said, adding that the team still has the European Championship and ranking tournaments ahead of that.
Ercetin said they want to secure their Olympic quota by placing well in those ranking tournaments, noting that qualifying for the Olympics would mark a first in the history of Turkish badminton in women's doubles. "We are excited to have our national anthem played there," she added.
Nazli Can Inci said she has competed on the national team for 15 years and that they are training intensively to qualify for the Olympics.
National team coach Murat Sonmez said he was proud that the athletes, whom he introduced to the sport and began training in badminton when they were six or seven years old, returned from the Mediterranean Games as champions.
Noting that badminton at the Mediterranean Games was contested in five categories, Sonmez said the Erzincan athletes represented the country in three of them.
He said the athletes reached the finals, became champions, and had the national anthem played three times in Italy, adding that this had truly honored and made the team proud.
Sonmez said the athletes' performance was especially gratifying, both for the country and for the children they will train in Erzincan in the future, calling it the first time Türkiye has achieved this kind of success in badminton.
Sonmez said the athletes heading to the Olympics are continuously attending training camps and competing in high-prestige tournaments in order to secure their quota.
"In women's doubles, we are very close to the Olympics," he said, adding that Emre Sonmez and Yasemen Bektas are currently in the Olympic qualification process in mixed doubles as well. "God willing, we want to achieve a first by sending four athletes from Erzincan to the Olympics," he said.
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