Paulo Coelho dedicates book to Turkish Olympic champion Gazoz
Turkey's Mete Gazoz shoots an arrow during the individual eliminations at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2021. (AP Photo)


Best-selling Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho dedicated his latest book to Turkish Olympic champion archer Mete Gazoz.

"Mete Gazoz ... First book dedicated to you, genius of archery. And this is my vision of archery as a way to understand better our lives," the Brazilian author said in a video posted to Twitter on Thursday.

Coelho, who is best known for his novel "The Alchemist," wrote "The Archer" in 2003 and the book was recently translated into Turkish with the title: "Okçunun Yolu" (The Path of the Archer).

In "The Archer," master bowman Tetsuya, who lives as a humble carpenter in a village is challenged by an archer from distant lands. The master accepts the challenge and transfers his archery philosophy to both the foreign archer and one of the village's young men.

The 22-year-old claimed gold medal at Tokyo Games in summer by winning the individual men's title, beating Italy's Mauro Nespoli. Gazoz's gold was a Turkish first in archery, a sport where fierce concentration is the watchword and South Koreans usually monopolize the titles.