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National boxer Pinar Benek is putting in intense training as she works toward the top of the podium at the Under-23 European Championship.
The national boxer, who is continuing her training at the Kastamonu Kadidagi Boxing Training Camp Center ahead of the Under-23 European Championship to be held in Croatia from Nov. 14-25, is aiming to win her first European title. Benek, 19, competes in the 57-kilogram category.
She was introduced to boxing in 2021 by a physical education teacher at the Cizre Vocational High School, and has since collected European bronze medals in the youth and junior categories, along with a silver medal at the World Championship in the junior category.
Benek said she discovered boxing five years ago in high school through her physical education teacher, who was a former national boxer. She recalled that soon after she began, the pandemic hit, and she continued training remotely for six months. She then won first place at the first Turkish Championship she entered.
The athlete added that she won a gold medal at this year's Under-23 Turkish Championship. Looking ahead to the European Championship in November, she said she hopes to win gold and return home with her flag raised. She has been European runner-up twice and world runner-up once, and said her goal is to add a European title to her medal collection.
Benek explained that she is a third-year student in the Physical Education and Sports Department at Sirnak University. She said that studying physical education was not originally her plan; in high school, she had wanted to study law, but after taking up boxing and winning championship titles, she set her academic goals aside to focus on the sport. She added that she hopes to study law after boxing, once she has competed in the Olympics, ''God willing.''
The young athlete pointed to the major successes achieved by Turkish female boxers in recent years, saying that in women's boxing, Türkiye is at the forefront worldwide.
She said that when an athlete from Türkiye steps into the ring, other countries grow nervous, adding that Türkiye has become a country other nations fear.
Benek said this means an athlete who wins the Turkish Championship has a real shot at reaching the semifinals in Europe. She called the Turkish Championship a success and said the next goal is to see the European Championship go just as well.
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