Cavit Şengün gained success with badminton after the age of 45 and continues his preparations for the European Championship

4th level badminton coach Cavit Şengün, who was previously interested in volleyball and football branches, achieved the third place in the Balkans as well as the Turkish championships in badminton, which he met after the age of 45.

Şengün, who trained hearing-impaired national athletes in his coaching career, had the pride of coming second in Europe in Lithuania with Hale Nur Küçüksevgili, whom he coached, and second in the world in Brazil with Furkan Büyükgöze.

Şengün, who came first in the +60 men's singles category and second with his partner İmran Doğan in the +55 mixed category, at the Veterans Turkey Badminton Championship held in Trabzon on 26-29 August, continues his preparations for the European Championship to be held in Cagliari, Italy, on 19-26 September.

Cavit Şengün told the AA reporter that, in addition to coaching, he has been competing as an athlete in the veterans category for many years.

Stating that he has been participating in badminton competitions for about 15 years, Şengün said, "I trained our national athlete, Hale Nur Küçüksevgili, who was successful among hearing impaired people. We achieved a European ranking with Hale Nur in Lithuania. Hale came second in Europe in Lithuania. I was her coach at that time. Lastly, as a coach, we achieved second place in the world with Furkan Büyükgöze in Brazil. This is one of the great achievements of our country." he said.

"My peers in Türkiye do not show much interest, but it is not like that in Europe."

Stating that he continues to coach Hale Nur Küçüksevgili, Şengün said, "I am 62 years old. There was no sport called badminton in our country before. I started sports after the age of 45. In the past, I also dabbled in branches such as volleyball and football. While I was dealing with those branches, I noticed and switched to badminton." he said.

Cavit Şengün noted that he achieved success in the men's singles, mixed and men's doubles categories every year, and that he came third in the Balkans, but could not place in the European and world championships he participated in.

Stating that he continues his preparations to represent Türkiye in the best way, Şengün concluded his words as follows:

"We have to be very strong here. There are many athletes in our categories in Europe. According to what we heard, there were nearly 2500 participants. Our job is quite difficult. Unfortunately, my peers in Türkiye cannot show much interest in this sport because they do not know, because they did not play in their childhood, but it is not like that in Europe. Tough rivals are waiting for us in Europe. Hopefully, I will try to make a place there. If I can return with a medal, it would be good. If I say championship, it sounds like a dream, but let's see. I hope luck comes our way. "If he smiles and I come back with a degree, it would be a great happiness for me, I would have brought a medal to our country."