Striving for gold, the highly accomplished national judoka Raziye Uluçam shined brightly at the IBSA World Visually Impaired Judo Championship held in Azerbaijan, where she earned a silver medal and with her aim now firmly set on her goal of claiming the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, Uluçam is surely ready to take on the challenge.
Uluçam, a visually impaired athlete from the Judo National Team, who lost 60% of her vision due to a childhood illness, dazzled the world by securing second place in the IBSA World Visually Impaired Judo Championship, held in Azerbaijan from Nov. 4-11, in the J2 category at 70 kilograms.
The national athlete, tirelessly striving for the Paralympic championship of her dreams, persists in her quest to meet the quota challenges.
Uluçam, a 40-year-old from Aksaray, was crestfallen when she shared in an interview her lifelong passion for judo, which, however, was interrupted by a troublesome eye ailment.
Uluçam proudly declared that she had been partaking in judo at the Paralympic level for four years.
She spoke of the intense training camp that preceded the championship held in Azerbaijan, where she felt welcomed and supported by the national team.
Although she did not return home with a gold medal, Uluçam was satisfied with her performance, noting that she was the only one on the podium who had not won a Paralympic medal before and that the competition was highly competitive.
Despite a narrow miss, Uluçam was still pleased with her achievement.
Uluçam emphasized that the World Visually Impaired Judo Championship is an invaluable rehearsal for her ahead of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Uluçam declared as she prepared for the upcoming quota competitions for the Paralympics, "My ambition is to put my best foot forward and come out of the Paralympics with a gold medal draped around my neck. To make that vision a reality, we need to put in the hard work, and the federation will guide us. I can't wait to take on these exciting challenges.”
Uluçam said that their ambition was to claim the championship, but alas, it was not to be.
She said: "We were so close to glory at the world championship. Nasip was the runner-up. Our opponent was the reigning world champion. We made it to the overtime, but despite our tactical astuteness, factors such as exhaustion had their say, and we had to settle for a second-place finish. We train hard every day of the week, and have a rigorous practice regimen. Now, however, our sights are set on the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. We have the hall and facilities to make it possible."