Turkish national karateka Fatih Şen, a member of the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club, is setting his sights on claiming the top spot at the Karate Premier League Tournament in Ireland over the weekend and the World Championship in Hungary scheduled for Oct. 24-29.
At the age of just 25, Fatih Şen has achieved numerous international successes in his 15-year karate career, eight of which have been spent representing his country.
His impressive resume includes six Balkan championships, podium finishes in European championships, a third-place finish at the world level, and a gold medal at the Mediterranean Games.
His most recent accolade was a second-place finish at the 3rd European Games.
With these accomplishments, Fatih Şen has risen to the 10th spot in the global rankings for the +84 kg. category.
His immediate goals include securing victory at the Karate Premier League to secure a top-three spot in the rankings.
Beyond that, he aspires to achieve his first world championship victory in Hungary and bring that triumphant feeling back to his homeland.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), Fatih Şen shared his journey, which began 15 years ago when he started karate as a child.
In his early years, he was involved in both karate and football.
However, after achieving success in his first European Championship, he decided to fully commit to karate.
Speaking about his upcoming challenges, he said: "Our next target is the World Championship in Budapest, Hungary, from Oct. 25 to 29. We have completed our training camp and are currently in a phase where we train three times a day. Our goal is to win the world championship. With the grace of God, we will go there and bring back the world championship."
Fatih Şen highlighted the exclusivity of the Karate Premier League, noting, "I will be participating in the Karate Premier League, which is an event that only the top 32 athletes in the world can enter. I am currently ranked 10th in the world, and if I perform well there, I will be in the top 3. This tournament, where only the top 32 in the world can participate, makes me proud. I am determined to represent my country and my city with strong performances."
He emphasized the remarkable progress he has made in the +84 kg. category over the past year, expressing confidence in his ability to climb to the top spot in the rankings.
Inspired by former national karate champion Enes Erkan, Fatih Şen has done everything in his power to follow in his idol's footsteps.
Aiming ahead, Fatih Şen has set his sights on winning both world and European championships. "I am very close to this goal. When I focus on a match, there is nothing I cannot achieve. I believe in myself. My initial goal is to become a world champion, and if I qualify for the Olympics, to compete there," he said.
Reflecting on a recent incident at the 3rd European Games in June, where he was stripped of a silver medal due to a disciplinary issue with a coach after the final match, Fatih Şen said: "The final match was going very well for me, and I even had a very high chance of winning 3-2. In the last 8 seconds of the match, I got a bit frustrated and stressed. Due to a dialogue between my coach and me, the referee misunderstood us and disqualified us from the match. In fact, there was no wrongdoing by the referee. It happened because of the dialogue between my coach and me, which should not have taken place. We are disappointed about that; unfortunately, we couldn't get the second-place medal that we rightfully deserved. Nevertheless, we are moving forward. I would like to thank Mayor Ekrem Yüce and President Cevat Ekşi of the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club for their unwavering support in every aspect of our journey in sports."