Turkish wrestler Burhan Akbudak, who won a gold medal at the European Wrestling Championship held in Croatia, returned to his hometown Kahramanmaraş and visited the family of his wrestler friend who lost his life in the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes.
Akbudak visited Necati Eskisarılı, the father of Mehmet Eskisarılı, one of the wrestlers who lost their lives in Kahramanmaraş during the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes that devastated southeastern Türkiye.
The visit was attended by the President of the Internal Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and Kahramanmaraş deputy Celalettin Güvenç, Kahramanmaraş Governor Ömer Faruk Coşkun, Turkish Traditional Wrestling Federation Deputy Chairperson Şahin Hopur and former General Manager of TİGEM and the AK Party Kahramanmaraş deputy candidate Hasan Gezginç.
The group recited the Holy Quran and prayed before cutting a cake with Akbudak's picture.
In a statement to journalists, Akbudak expressed his condolences for the loss of nine wrestlers during the earthquakes and explained that he came to Kahramanmaraş immediately after the quake to help.
"Of course, it's the disaster of the century. It's a huge disaster for our citizens who lost their lives and nine of our wrestlers. I came to my hometown Kahramanmaraş after the championship. Today we visited Necati Eskisarılı, the father of one of our colleagues, Mehmet Eskisarılı, who lost his life. I do everything I can to help the families here. I am with them financially and morally. God bless our brothers who lost their lives. I pray for mercy," he said.
Necati Eskisarılı, the father of the deceased wrestler Mehmet Eskisarılı, congratulated Akbudak on his gold medal and thanked him for bringing it to Kahramanmaraş.
He also expressed his hope that Akbudak would win an Olympic medal.
Ramazan Ekiz, the father of wrestler Aslan Ekiz who also lost his life in the earthquake, commented that Akbudak's gold medal relieved their pain.
