Turkish female wrestler clinches bronze in Baku, eyes Olympic success

BAKU

DHA Photo

Turkish wrestler Merve Kenger, who has clinched a bronze medal in the women’s 53kg category at the European Games in Baku, has set her eyes on Olympic success.

Kenger beat her Moldovan opponent Natalia Budu on June 16 to clinch Turkey’s first women’s wrestling medal at the games.

Kenger told Anadolu Agency that she had hoped for a gold medal in Baku.

“But this third place is a milestone in my career,” she said, adding that her dream was to win an Olympic medal.

“This was a start, many more medals await me. My initial target is the World Championship, where the top five will earn places at the 2016 Rio Olympics. I want to earn an Olympic medal for my country in Rio,” Kenger said.

Meanwhile, one of Turkey’s gold medal hopefuls, taekwondo practitioner Servet Tazegül, suffered a shock defeat in the first round on June 17 and was knocked out of the competition.

Also on June 17 at the European Games, Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic won gold in the women’s 10m air pistol with a score of 199.5 points at the Baku Shooting Center.

Sonia Franquet of Spain took silver with a score of 196.3 while Belarusian Viktoria Chaika claimed bronze with 177.4.