Discovered in a talent screening in Kayseri and fast-tracked to the national team in her very first competitive season, 16-year-old shooter Hale Derya Eroğlu is now preparing for her biggest test yet: the European Air Weapons Championships in Bulgaria.
Eroğlu, one of Türkiye’s brightest young prospects in shooting sports, will represent the country at the championships scheduled for Feb. 1-8, 2026, after dominating national trials and emerging as the top athlete in her age group.
Her rise has been swift.
Identified nearly two years ago by coach Mehmet Avcı during a talent identification program, Eroğlu initially trained at the Türkiye Olympic Preparation Center (TOHM) before continuing her development under the Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports.
Along the way, she competed in multiple events organized by the Turkish Shooting Federation, steadily building a resume of podium finishes.
The breakthrough came in Mersin, where national team selections for the European Championships were held between Nov. 24 and Dec. 4.
Competing in the under-16 category, Eroğlu topped the field, earning her place on the national team and a ticket to Bulgaria.
Now back in Kayseri, she is training with a singular goal: to leave Europe not just with a medal, but with history.
"My first goal is to become European champion,” Eroğlu said. "I want to return to Türkiye with a gold medal. After that, my dream is to represent my country at the 2028 Olympic Games, to hear our national anthem and come home with another gold.”
A former archer, Eroğlu said she switched disciplines after following a childhood passion for shooting – one that quickly proved to be the right choice. She trains six days a week alongside coaches Mehmet Avcı and Ahmet Bayrak, balancing discipline with an unrelenting hunger to improve.
Her coach believes the numbers back up the ambition.
At the Mersin trials, Eroğlu fired 40 shots at 10 meters, scoring 366 points to finish first among 100 athletes nationwide.
In her very first training session after the selections, she raised that score to 371 – a sign, Avcı says, of what is coming next.
"Our goal is to break the Turkish record at the European Championships,” Avcı said. "Hale has that capacity right now.”
The national women’s record stands at 376 points, and Avcı believes Eroğlu can surpass it this year – ideally on the continental stage.
"When regular training, discipline, desire and love for the sport come together, you get Hale,” he said. "Our main target is 2028, but breaking the Turkish record at the European Championships would mean even more. We want to return with both gold and a national record.”