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Türkiye’s national shooting team has flown back home after picking up seven medals at the European Shooting Championship held in Armenia, and they were welcomed with flowers at Esenboga Airport in Ankara by ministry and federation representatives as well as relatives.
The Türkiye Shooting Federation said the squad wrapped up the championship with 2 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals, underlining a result the federation leadership said they had gone in expecting after a long period of structured training with coaches.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Federation President Murat Kocakaya said the team had travelled to Armenia in a confident frame of mind and came back with the outcome they had been working toward. While he noted that they would always look back and wonder whether a few more medals could have been added, he stressed that the bigger aim is to turn these steps into Olympic medals for Türkiye.
He also pointed to the symbolic weight of winning in Armenia, saying it was a source of pride for the athletes to have the national anthem played during the event.
Asked about Damla Kose winning Türkiye’s first gold in the women’s 10m air rifle solo event, Kocakaya said women’s rifle has been building up serious momentum over the past one to two years. He recalled that Kose had finished as European runner-up in the same discipline last year, and has now moved on to the top step of the podium.
Kocakaya also drew attention to Elif Duygu winning an individual bronze, describing it as another sign of progress, while adding that the program also includes a young athlete he described as a world record-holder, Elif Berfin. He said he believes all three can go on to represent Türkiye at the Olympics.
Yusuf Dikec, who won one gold and two silver medals at the championship, said the competition had been “good” and “fruitful,” while noting that the team narrowly missed out on two to three additional medals after close finishes by teammates, including Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Ismail Keles.
Framing the results as proof of disciplined, consistent work paying off, Dikec said the team’s target is the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, adding: “Our target is the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. God willing, we will keep working at full speed without stopping until then.” He also said that after winning medals, he would step aside as an older athlete and the younger shooters would carry on, and he dedicated his medals to Turkish young people who have started taking up shooting.
Tarhan, who completed the event with one silver and one bronze, said the team experienced the usual mix of setbacks and bad luck that can shape outcomes in competition, and although they could have returned with more, this was the best they could deliver this time.
She said they want to come back next time with an even higher medal tally, while stressing that the “big picture” remains the Olympics, describing these events as steps on the way.
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