Turkish national kickboxer Ferit Özdemir has returned to his favorite sport with honors after two international tournaments, despite the devastating effects of the earthquake that hit his hometown of Osmaniye on Feb. 6.
The talented athlete has expressed his pride in representing Türkiye and has set his sights on achieving even more.
Özdemir is a third-year student of Marmara University Sports Sciences and has been competing in kickboxing since the age of 16.
When the earthquake hit, he took a short break from the sport to deal with the trauma, but he determined to return to the ring as soon as possible.
After resting for a while in different cities, he began preparing for the world and European cups in Austria and the Netherlands.
Özdemir competed in the WAKO World Cup held in Innsbruck, Austria on March 17-19 and the WAKO Europe held in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, on March 23-25.
He secured the third spot in the Cup, an impressive achievement that he is extremely proud of.
The national athlete commented on his success, saying: "It is great to be able to find strength in yourself to achieve these things because you are alive, but when you look back, you have survived a very difficult event. You overcome it and you come to fight with that psychology. It is a difficult thing but the success I achieved made me proud of myself and made me happy too.”
Özdemir faced many challenges during the tournaments, but his experience and dedication helped him achieve great success.
Despite the devastating effects of the earthquake on his mental state, he was able to focus on his game plan and excel on the international stage.
"After I came to my senses, we started planning for the future and I told myself that I had to keep going. Despite the effect of my experiences, the result was quite satisfactory," he said.
Currently, Ferit Özdemir is relentlessly focused on his training regimen and physical conditioning to prepare for the upcoming European Games, which are slated to be held in June.
He highlighted the significance of the tournament in the world of kickboxing, saying that it is the largest tournament of its kind and holds immense importance for him and his fellow athletes.
With his eyes set on success, Özdemir stated he is working hard to be ranked and hopes to become a champion.
