Akgül, who left behind nearly 2 years in the Turkish Wrestling Federation, which he headed after his active sports career, made a statement to the press members in the federation building.
Summarizing what he has done in the past 20 months as president, Akgül said, "We have been trying to establish a system since the day we arrived. We have entered into a serious restructuring. Of course, it will take some time to reap the fruits of this. Just as our decline in infrastructure did not happen suddenly, our rise will not happen suddenly. We will first see a movement in the under-15 category. Then under 17, then under 20 and 23. The children we invested in will be in the first European Under-15 Championship, with God's help." It will bear fruit with His permission." he said.
Stating that they received very positive feedback from the Turkey Junior Wrestling Championship held in Ankara in July with the participation of more than 10 thousand athletes between the ages of 8-14, Akgül said, "We organized the largest Turkish championship in the history of the Republic of Turkey and broke a record in terms of the number of participants. We held a festival with great enthusiasm in Ankara Sports Hall. We identified the most talented people in all age categories. We financed this event with the support of our sponsors, especially our ministry, and it provided a very serious support to our children." "The enthusiasm of our families and the excitement of our children was amazing. We are trying to increase their excitement. For example, there were some of our families who came to the corner of the competition. We gave flexibility to all of them because we want to make the families love this job." he said.
Stating that they are planning to hold a similar championship during the semester break, Taha Akgül said, "We will not include the children in the Wrestling Training Centers in the championship we will hold during the semester break. Our children in the clubs are at a more disadvantage. Because our children in the Wrestling Training Centers are very well prepared, they are well-fed, they train 365 days a year. They automatically come stronger and more systematically than the children coming from the club or the province. That is why we are including them in this and planning another Turkish championship." "During the semester break, because the more matches we make them play and increase their match experience, the better it will be." he commented.
Referring to the camps held with the participation of 850 children, Akgül continued his words as follows:
"We took our children to the camp in 15 cities. There is a cultural fusion between our children who go from Mardin to Ordu, from Hakkari to Sakarya, from Edirne to Bingöl. They saw the sea for the first time and entered the pool for the first time. We allocate the best coaches in our provinces and the region to our children during the camp and follow their development processes. We select our children from these places for Wrestling Training Centers. Those who enter the training centers are automatically included in our system. "We follow our children who are not included in our system with development camps. In other words, we do not do this for the sake of making a championship. We continue to follow them with these development camps in order to contribute to their development."
Akgül also shared that they plan to participate in the Balkan Youth and Stars Wrestling Championship to be held in Croatia with a squad of approximately 200 people, consisting of athletes who did not wrestle in the European and world championships.
"If we do not see any development under the age of 15 and 17, we are responsible for this."
Taha Akgül, who was asked to evaluate the current situation of the Greco-Roman and freestyle A national teams, said:
"We started the change in freestyle, but we have a very experienced staff in Greco-Roman. A change is also needed in Greco-Roman. The squads that will make that change are young people and stars. But unfortunately, we cannot get the performance we want there yet. We are doing everything, including competitions and camps. But now, during the pandemic period, between 2019-2021, camps could not be opened and tournaments could not be attended. Between 2021-2024, camps and tournaments could not be opened again. There have been some shortcomings. Unfortunately, we are now in charge of our children who were not taken care of and postponed for 5 years. Unfortunately, there is such acceptance in the competition. That's why we need to be held responsible for the youth team, our children who wrestle in the under-14 and lower categories. I always say that if these children do not get a medal after 4-5 years, we are the ones responsible for this.
About women's wrestling, which he praised, Akgül said, "I keep women's wrestling very special. We have really good kids coming from the bottom. In that sense, we are very lucky. I think the team we are luckiest in the Olympic process is the women's wrestling team. May God bless them. They work very well. The technical staff there is also in a very good condition. They made 6 finals in the Mediterranean Games, won 4 gold medals, and made history. I congratulate them all very much." made his assessment.
"We want to build the world's number one wrestling facility in Sakarya"
Emphasizing that he has always tried to be on the field since he was elected president, Akgül said, "Of course, we have deficiencies in terms of facilities. Thank God, we will move to our administrative building soon. Turkish wrestling is getting a beautiful facility in 16 acres in Ankara Ovacık. We will move to a beautiful area with a gym, office and garden, and it will be an area truly suitable for wrestling. Apart from that, we had a deficiency in terms of a camp training center. We have had Elmadağ and Sarıyer for many years. But it did not meet our needs. Because we have 500-600 athletes attending the camp at the same time, we have to pay for hotels. Our President promised a facility of 44 decares and it is currently in the project phase. I think it will be the world's largest and most beautiful wrestling facility, with God's permission. "I think it will be popular." he replied.
"We are aware that the world championship will be difficult"
Taha Akgül also said the following about his expectations for the 2026 World Wrestling Championship to be held in Kazakhstan between 24 October and 1 November:
"Our champion (Rıza Kayaalp) is preparing well. Especially his morale and motivation are good. His condition is not bad, hopefully it will get better. Rıza has to use his body sparingly now. The world championship will not be like the European championship. We have tougher opponents. We know it will be more difficult in terms of medals. Last year was already very bad. We know that our job is difficult again this year, we are aware of it. In fact, 15 medals were won in 17 weight classes in the Mediterranean Games. It seems like a wonderful success. It seems, but we didn't exaggerate it. Why? There is a reality; I am proud of the success in the European Games, the Olympics, but the criteria for us are definitely the world and the Olympics. We know that our children will compete well, all our teams are well prepared. If we are well-intentioned and our children are well-intentioned, we will be successful.
