National skateboard champion beaten in skate park
ISTANBUL - Demirören News Agency
In a shocking incident, national skateboarder Alparslan Ayhan was blatantly attacked and beaten as he tried to stop a group of young fellows from fighting in Istanbul’s Maltepe Skate Park.
A young group who came to the skate park on Maltepe Beach late on Aug. 10 was trying to extort money from another group. Ayhan and his friend, Kerem Şahinoğlu, intervened to stop the group from the heated confrontation.
Ayhan sustained blunt injuries, with his nose broken and bruises all over his face and eyebrows. Health teams came immediately following notifications and tended Ayhan, who was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery due to his broken nose.
Father Cengiz Ayhan, who complained about the lack of security measures in the region, called authorities for strict action.
Criticizing the security guards inside the Maltepe Skate Park, Ayhan’s father demanded that the police should allocate private security for the park.
“While he [Alparslan Ayhan] was training in the park, where he always goes and is one of a few in Istanbul, he saw three people beating a 13-year-old boy. My son’s friend wanted to break the fight. Then more people come and attacked our children,” he said.
“While my son was trying to separate them, he was beaten with his own skateboard, which is shameful,” the father added. Noting that skate parks exist only in a few areas of Istanbul, he said, “This is not an accident but violence.”
“My son has been chasing his dreams since he was 6 years old and has reached the highest point he can get in this sport. He is studying at Fenerbahçe University Faculty of Sports Sciences and trains for four hours a day,” he said.
“Doctors say plastic surgery is needed. He will stay in the hospital for seven days,” he added.
