Young Ukrainian wrestler Deniz Arnaut is eying European success after becoming second in a competition in Turkey, just a month after fleeing the Russian invasion of his native country.
12-year-old Arnaut and his family are Gagauz Turks, who live mostly in the southern Balkans.
He traveled to Turkey with his mother Tudora Arnaut, an associate professor of Turkology at Kyiv National University, after spending a week in a bunker.
The mother and the son were evacuated with the help of the Turkish Embassy in Ukraine. They have now settled down in western Turkey’s Lüleburgaz, where Deniz pursues his studies and a lifelong passion for wrestling.
Arnaut, who started wrestling at the age of 6, joined the Lüleburgaz Youth Sports Club and participated in the Turkish Greco-Roman Championship in Afyonkarahisar on April 11-15.
The young Gagauz Turk clinched and became second in the 44-kilogram category, in his first-ever tournament in Turkey.
Trainer Ali Osman Kara had high hopes for the 12-year-old. "Maybe he can become an asset for Turkish wrestling. The wrestling federation is keenly following his development." Kara said.
Arnaut was delighted by the warm welcome he and his family received in Lüleburgaz.
He thanked his school principal for helping him find an opportunity to pursue wrestling.
“Now I have friends here. There are very good wrestlers as well. I’ve become second in Turkey and now I want to win medals in European championships,” Arnaut said.
"When the war started, we had no intention of leaving our homeland. But, after staying in the shelter for a week, life was becoming very difficult. So we decided to come to Turkey, which we call our second homeland,” his mother added.
