Turkey bags 18 medals in Bulgarian wrestling tournament

Turkish wrestlers have clinched 18 medals in a wrestling tournament in Bulgaria, according to the Turkish Wrestling Federation.

The federation said in a statement late Sunday that Turkey won five gold medals, three silvers, and 10 bronze medals in the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament, which took place on March 22-25 in the capital Sofia.

The event is seen as a preliminary for the European Wrestling Championship to be held in Kaspiysk, Russia from April 30 to May 6, it said.

“This was a rehearsal for the European championship for us. All our athletes showed extraordinary examples of struggle. We finished the tournament with 18 medals," Federation President Musa Aydin said in the statement.

In Greco-Roman wrestling, Dogus Ayazci won a gold medal at 55 kilograms, while Murat Firat got the gold at 67 kg, Suleyman Semirci at 97 kg, and Riza Kayaalp at 130 kg.

In female freestyle, Buse Tosun won the gold at 68 kg, while Elif Jale Yesilırmak was third at 59 kg.

“This is a very successful outcome,” Aydin added.

“Our athletes will be doing their final preparations before the European Championship. We’ve also found our shortcomings in these competitions. We want to put our best foot forward for the European championship by working on these.”