Turkish Wrestling Federation President Taha Akgül, Turkish Basketball Federation Deputy President Harun Erdenay and free diving world record holder national athlete Şahika Ercümen attended the panel held at Selçuklu Congress Center within the scope of the Palestine Youth Forum as speakers.
Turkish Wrestling Federation President Taha Akgül stated that they have a mission as well-known athletes who have achieved success in the international arena.
Stating that within the scope of this mission, they represent not only the flag of Türkiye but also the entire Muslim world, Akgül said, "Wrestling, in particular, is a branch in which the Turkish republics and Muslim countries in Central Asia are more dominant and successful. As a federation, we hosted the Palestine National Team in our camps before. We ensured that they benefited from the opportunities of the national team. Because the conditions there are currently far below the living standards. As well-known athletes in the international arena, we, as well-known athletes in the international arena, offer our brothers and sisters there as much as we can. "We are doing everything to support children and young people in Palestine." he said.
Akgül stated that he found it very valuable to remember Palestine and Gaza and thanked those who contributed to the organization of the organization.
Turkish Basketball Federation Deputy President Harun Erdenay also explained that basketball and all team sports aim at solidarity, cooperation and struggle.
Explaining that basketball is a team sport, Erdenay said, "When any of our friends is injured or sick, we try to cover his place and support him to get better. Today, our Palestinian athlete brothers cannot even participate in tournaments, let alone play matches, train. The most painful thing is that their survival is prevented. A basketball player should not be deprived of his right to sports, no matter what." he said.
Stating that the unifying spirit of sports should be benefited from, Erdenay said, "As the Federation, we worked with the Syrian Basketball Federation 2 years ago. We sent coaches to them. They came, visited our fields and really benefited from us. Now we want to do the same for our Palestinian brothers. We will start initiatives for this. Basketball is a sport that has just started there. But these brothers really have a lot to learn from us and our coaches." made his assessment.
Şahika Ercümen said that it is a great example of wisdom that Palestinian athletes, whose right to life was taken away, are still trying to continue this struggle with sports.
Minister Bak: "The desire to stand against the oppressor should be within all of us"
Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak gave advice to the young people in the hall after the panel he attended as an audience.
Explaining that strong athletes can give a challenging message to the whole world, Bak said, "You watched Lamine Yamal. They criticized him a lot, but he never took a step back. Because he has such a talent that he cannot be given up. It is not possible for that club to give up on him. You have to be that good. Cristiano Ronaldo had taken these steps in the same way before. The will, the power with which he trained himself, the love of freedom within him, the desire to resist oppression and stand against the oppressor should be within all of us." he said.
Minister Bak emphasized that when the fire of kindness burns, no one can stand in its way, adding that this is one of the human values.
After the speeches, Minister Bak, the speakers participating in the panel and the audience took souvenir photos.
