He became the European champion while trying to lose weight

Yağız Hacılar, a student at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Department of Industrial Engineering, became the European champion twice in taekwondo, which he started at the age of 12 at the insistence of his father to lose his extra weight. The national athlete, who stated that he never liked taekwondo when he first started, that he went to trainings unhappy and reluctant, but everything changed over time, said, "I used to play computer games at home and always have a snack. I reached 84 kilos when I was in middle school. My father made me enroll in taekwondo, saying that it wasn’t going to work like this. Although I was unhappy at first, I got used to taekwondo over time. I lost weight; I got a healthy life. Thanks to my father, I became the European champion."

19-year-old Yağız Hacılar, a freshman at IUE Department of Industrial Engineering, living in Buca, Izmir, started taekwondo 7 years ago. Although he did not like taekwondo at first, Hacılar followed the training program given by the coaches strictly and made a difference in a short time with his talent. Hacılar, who trained regularly for 2-3 hours a day, got rid of his excess weight during this time and continued his development in a healthy way. Hacılar, who won medals in Turkey consecutively in taekwondo, which became essential part of his life, was also selected for the national team.

HE MADE HIS MARK IN EUROPE

Hacılar realized his dream of taking the podium in the international arena for the first time in 2018 by ranking third in Europe in the young men's category. Yağız approached the European championship for the first time in 2019, which he approached step by step. The national athlete became the European champion in the men's category. Continuing to train uninterruptedly to repeat the same success, Hacılar achieved an unattainable success by becoming the European champion again in the same category this year. Hacılar brought the total number of his medals in Turkey and Europe to 16.

I DELETED MY OLD PHOTOS

Stating that when he first started taekwondo, he did not imagine that he would be this successful, Hacılar said, “As a child, I spent a lot of time in front of the computer. I had a sedentary lifestyle. I loved junk food. All this affected me negatively in terms of weight. For example, I only had a few photos when I was overweight, and I deleted them anyway. I was almost considered obese. My father was very upset about this situation. He didn't stay silent any longer and started me in sports. Good thing he did. I had a hard time at first. I said, 'What is this all about?’ I went to training regularly, but I did not like taekwondo. But everything changed when I went out for a match for the first time. When I felt that excitement and saw that everyone was watching me, my emotions suddenly changed. I realized that taekwondo was just for me. Then my motivation increased even more, and achievements stacked up. I will take part in the European Championship with the national team in February. My goal is to become European champion for the third time.”

I WANT TO BECOME A GOOD ENGINEER

Stating that his father Hüsnü Hacılar is also an engineer and wants to be a good engineer just like his father, the national athlete said, “My sports career is very important. But I also want to improve myself academically. I am studying with 50% scholarship in my department. Of course, I will continue to do taekwondo, but I also want to be a good engineer and to write a success story that extends abroad. I will spend my university years in the best way, both sports and academically.”