Türkiye's taekwondo star Kavurat strikes gold again
Kavurat also won gold in the 49-kilogramme category at the 2023 World Championships in Azerbaijan.
Turkish athlete Merve Dincel Kavurat won gold in the women’s 53-kilogramme category at the World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China, claiming her second consecutive world championship.
“Sixteen of our athletes represented our country in the championship, achieving the most successful result in Turkish taekwondo history,” the Turkish Taekwondo Federation said on Thursday.
Kavurat advanced directly to the second round and defeated Stavroula Dessyla of Greece, Mobina Nematzadeh of Iran, Po Ya-su of Taiwan, and Jana Khattab of Egypt to reach the final.
She beat Dunya Ali Abutaleb of Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the championship match.
Kavurat also won gold in the 49-kg category at the 2023 World Championships in Azerbaijan.
Last week, Kavurat had said that she felt no pressure and that she believed they will achieve success as a team.
When reminded that they won the world championship as a team in Baku, the national taekwondo athlete said:
"When I look back, we have young players, but they all trained with us, with experienced players. Looking back, Emre Kutalmis Atesli is still with us, as are Nafia Kus and Hatice Kubra Ilgun, and I'm here. So, I think we're a very good team. I have high hopes for our young players, too. I believe that, God willing, we will win the World Championship again."
Kavurat also said that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games had a great impact on her, despite her not winning a medal:
"Paris 2024 made me grow. I think it made me grow in terms of age and experience. I think my perspective on taekwondo has completely changed. I still have a chance to become the first Turkish female Olympic champion."