Eyüp Gözgeç, president of the Turkish Boxing Federation, has set the bar high, expressing expectations of at least three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), Gözgeç revealed that preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics would kick off next month.
He emphasized the significance of the 2023 European Games in Poland, citing it as a pivotal event for their team.
Shedding light on their upcoming endeavors, Gözgeç explained their plans to participate in world qualifiers in Italy in March and Bangkok, Thailand, in May.
Highlighting their success at the European Games, where they secured Olympic quotas in six weight classes, Gözgeç underscored the importance of the upcoming championships in Samsun.
"We have two more qualifiers ahead, and the championship in Samsun is crucial for determining who will participate. In 2016, before the Rio Olympics, we had Olympic qualifiers in Samsun and six athletes secured their spots. Hopefully, the athletes from here will perform well in the qualifiers, and we'll head to Paris with them. We have high hopes for medals from our athletes," he said.
Gözgeç emphasized their ambition to bring joy to Türkiye with medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, saying: "We have high expectations for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Our Ministry of Youth and Sports, our president, closely follows us. We have a debt to pay to our president, our country, our ministry, and the boxing community. We hope to bring joy to our country with the medals we win at the Olympics. Our goal for the Olympics is ambitious, except for three gold medals. World authorities predict two gold and two silver medals for us in boxing, but we aspire for more."
Reflecting on their achievements this year in various age categories, Gözgeç proudly mentioned their success at the European Games. He said: "In the European Games, four of our girls and two male athletes secured quotas. This is a record. Our expectation for the first leg of the qualifiers was two or three quotas, but we secured six quotas."