Became a national athlete at the insistence of her father

Doğa Deniz Çıkman (19), who started sailing at the age of 10 at the insistence of her father, proved her talent in a short time and made it to the national team, has already received 15 cups and 70 medals in her career. Selected as a national athlete at the age of 15 and representing our country in many championships so far, Çıkman’s successive achievements opened the door to the university education she dreamed of. Çıkman benefitted from the "National Athlete Scholarship" opportunity provided by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and started to study at the Department of Industrial Design at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) last year with a full scholarship. Çıkman said, “In addition to being a good sailor, I also want to be a successful designer. My biggest dream about sailing is to take part in the Olympics and compete on behalf of our country. Fortunately, I started sailing, my father's insistence on this matter changed my life.”

Doğa Deniz Çıkman, a freshman at IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Industrial Design, started swimming in Çanakkale when she was only 6 years old and became acquainted with sports. Developing herself in a short time thanks to the lessons she took from the coaches, Çıkman took the first step on the road that led her to become a national team athlete by deciding to become a sailor at the age of 10. The talent of Çıkman, who received sailing training by enrolling in İÇDAŞ Sports Club, was noticed in a short time. Cikman, who strictly followed the schedule determined by her coaches and devoted a significant part of her time to sailing, reached her dream of being selected for the National Team at the age of 15.

SERIES OF ACHIEVEMENTS

Having achieved many successes in the "optimist" and "laser" categories, Çıkman then moved to the 420 class and represented our country in the 2017 Balkan Championship and the 2019 European Youth Championship. Çıkman, who ranked second in Turkey in a row in the Spor Toto Stars Cup and Bodrum Winter Cup organizations held by the Turkish Sailing Federation and became ranked first in many tournaments, collected the cups and medals one by one. Finally, Çıkman came in third place with her teammate in the Turkey National Team Selection held in Urla two weeks ago.

QUALIFIED TO RECEIVE THE ‘NATIONAL ATHLETE SCHOLARSHIP’

Çıkman's success in sports also paved the way for her to receive a qualified education in the department she wanted. Taking advantage of the "National Athlete Scholarship" opportunity, which was initiated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports for national athletes to study at foundation universities with full scholarship and to improve themselves academically, Çıkman continues her education at IUE with a full scholarship.

MY GOAL IS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OLYMPICS

Stating that she proved that sports and education can be carried out together, Çıkman said that her goal is the Olympics. Çıkman said, “My father always wanted to be a sailor when he was young but could not do it. He said that I could achieve this, he insisted on this, and motivated me. Since I was interested in the sea since I was little, I accepted it. I am glad I did it, I am glad my father insisted. Because sports changed my life. It helped me achieve my dreams. When I was in middle school and high school, I used to go sailing after school. My life was spent between education and sports. I worked hard, sometimes got tired, but I also got the reward for it. My success in sports brought me a scholarship opportunity. I am studying in the department and university I want, with full scholarship. In addition to being a good sailor, I also want to be a successful designer. My biggest goal is to take part in the Olympics with the national team jersey. I want to achieve this and experience that excitement by making to the 470 class.”