IUE’s success in Taekwondo
Melis Aras and Yağız Hacılar, national athlete students of Izmir University of Economics (IUE), collected medals at the 9th International Turkish Open Taekwondo Tournament organized in Antalya. Yagız, who achieved great success on the mat in the men's singles category, in which 99 athletes participated, came second and won the silver medal. Yağız and Melis competed together as a couple and won the bronze medal in the 'poomsae' category, where a total of 90 athletes took place, ranking 3rd. Yağız and Melis, who collected medals and made our country and Izmir proud, said, “We always believed that we would get the medal, and we motivated ourselves in this direction. We are happy that we achieved our goal. We are looking forward to new achievements.”
Melis Aras (19), student of IUE Vocational School Civil Aviation Transportation Management Program, and Yağız Hacılar (20), student of Department of Industrial Engineering, competed at the International Turkish Open Taekwondo Tournament on February 7. Athletes from many countries such as Denmark, Croatia, South Korea, India, Serbia, Italy, Germany and France sweated for the medal in the tournament organized by the Turkish Taekwondo Federation.
I LOST MY BALANCE
Yagız Hacılar, who won two European championships in taekwondo as well as many Turkish degrees, said that he was proud to receive a medal. Hacılar said, “My goal was to be first in the individual category. However, I lost it at the last minute. I missed the first place because I lost my balance in the last minutes of the competition. Of course, being second is also a great success. We achieved a good success with Melis, my school mate, and came in third. I realized that competing in doubles requires a lot more responsibility. I am happy to have brought two medals to our country. I continue to train constantly with the aim of bringing new successes to my country by being the first in the upcoming matches. This tournament will also give me energy for the new organizations I will attend in the coming period.”
EXCITEMENT AND PRIDE
Melis Aras, who won 22 medals in taekwondo, which she started at the age of 12, and holds the European second place, regardless of those who say, "Taekwondo is not for you, you will get injured", stated that the tournament in Antalya went well for her. Aras said, “In the tournament, I came very close to a medal in the individual category. Unfortunately, I finished 5th. It was a bittersweet joy. However, the third place we won with Yağız made me very happy. I managed to add one more medal to my career. Every organization where I represent my country excites and makes me proud no matter what. I felt this in Antalya as well. I competed among ambitious athletes from different countries who came there with great expectations. I think I performed very well. There are many tournaments that I plan to participate in in the coming period. I believe I will reach first place there. Athletes should always want better and set that as a goal for themselves. I will continue to train with this perspective.”
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