Taha Akgül was the only Turkish wrestler to win a gold medal on behalf of Turkey in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Interviewed by NTV, Akgül said, "I want to break all the records - as many as I can."

Stressing that Turkish wrestling has been making a breakthrough, Akgül said: "We achieved the most phenomenal success in the Rio Olympics in 52 years. I won the only gold medal for the Turkish team. The fact that the wrestling matches were in the last days of the Olympics put pressure on us. By the time the wrestling matches started, Turkey had won only one medal. Then, we won one medal in Greco-Roman and three in free-style wrestling. Our county had been going through tough times then. It affected us too, increasing our responsibilities. We were supposed to show our strength to the entire world. I think we made it, especially in wrestling. We won one gold, two silver and two bronze medals, five in total." When asked, "From now on can we get good results in world championships or big tournaments," Akgül answered: "Turkish wrestling has been restructuring for four years. In these four years, we have been raising the level. Our medal number is increasing. In Rio we won five medals, and it was the biggest success for Turkey in 52 years. Now we have a good squad. I hope this squad will be successful in European and World championships and the 2020 Olympics"

On his personal targets, Taha Akgül said: "Now I have four Europe, two World and one Olympic Championship. That's why I will have a psychological advantage against my rivals. My target is to represent my country in the best way possible. I want to raise my championship number to at least eight in Europe, to five in World Championships and to two in the Olympics."