The 23rd Deaflympics in Turkey’s Samsun close

SAMSUN

The 23rd Deaflympics, which began on July 18 in the coastal Black Sea province of Samsun with more than 3,000 athletes from 97 countries participating, concluded on July 30.

Turkey bagged 39 medals at the event, including 14 golds, six silvers and 19 bronzes, according to the official website of the 2017 Deaflympics.

With the results, Turkey ranked fifth in the medal table behind Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and China.

Valery Rukhledev, head of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), the main governing body responsible for the organization of the Deaflympics, thanked Turkey for hosting the global sports event.

“As ICSD, we applaud and congratulate Turkey,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Turkey’s Deaf Sports Federation for the medal won. In a congratulatory message to the head of the federation, Yakup Ümit Kıhtır, Erdoğan especially celebrated the Turkish men’s volleyball team and the men’s handball squad for winning their respective tournaments, Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkey’s men’s handball team defeated Russia on July 29 30-26 in the final to claim the title. Also on July 29, the men’s volleyball team defeated Ukraine in the final in three sets of 25-22, 25-21, 25-23.

In taekwondo, Ali Rıza Karaca won a gold medal in the men’s competition, while the Turkish team of Ayşe Gül Gökkaya, Aslıhan Savan and Elif Yenigün became the champion in the women’s team poomsae. Gökkaya also won silver in the single’s event.

İbrahim Atamer-Aslıhan Savan duo from Turkey won the bronze medal in mixed pairs poomsae.

The first games for the deaf, known then as the International Silent Games, were held in 1924 in Paris with athletes from nine European nations participating.

The idea for the games initially came from Eugene Rubens- Alcais, president of the French Deaf Sports Federation.