21.06.2026 19:40
Özge Gündağ, a 15-year-old who has been doing kickboxing in Eskişehir for 5 years, became the World Cup champion in two different branches by defeating her opponents in the early rounds of the tournament, for which she prepared with 3 training sessions per day.
Following her Turkish championships in recent years, 15-year-old talented kickboxer Özge Gündağ, who has also made a name for herself on the international stage, continues to add new achievements to her list.
WORLD CHAMPION IN TWO CATEGORIES
Competing in the 'Light Contact' and 'Kick Light' disciplines at her latest tournament, the young athlete gave no chance to her opponents and claimed the World Cup title in both categories. Stating that she worked with intense discipline on the path to success, Gündağ emphasized that she dedicated 3 hours a day to training. The young talent's biggest dream now is to wear the national jersey and represent Turkey on the international stage.
''MY GOAL IS TO BE SELECTED FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM''
Describing the challenging process behind her championships, 15-year-old Özge Gündağ said, "I have a Turkish second place and a Turkish championship from last year. I also previously had a World Cup championship. This year, I have two World Cup championships and one Turkish championship. I have been involved in this sport for five years. While preparing for matches, I trained 3 hours a day; one session before school and two sessions after school. Together with my coach, we prepared by doing pad and bag work. I have been doing intensive training for two years; in previous years, I usually did one training session a day. My goal is to be selected for the national team and make our National Anthem heard around the world."
FURKAN ALTINOK: ''SHE FINISHED ALL HER OPPONENTS IN THE FIRST ROUND''
Expressing pride in his athlete's outstanding success, coach Furkan Altınok stated that they are reaping the rewards of planned and dedicated work. Altınok said, "We won a Turkish championship and World Cup championships. At the last tournament we went to, I entered Özge in two disciplines in kickboxing: 'Light Contact' and 'Kick Light'. She became champion in both, achieving two World Cup championships, and we returned with great joy. At the World Cup, an average athlete competes in 5 matches. We prepared Özge very well by having her do this many matches in both disciplines. Technically and conditionally; she came to training at 6 AM, trained, went to school, came back from school and trained again, and she reaped the rewards of that effort. She finished all her opponents by winning in the first round. There were few matches that extended to a second round, only one or two. Apart from that, we got the reward for our efforts. Our goal now is to prepare well and send each of our athletes to the national team so they can compete in world and European championships."