Turkey rises to 30th in medal table in 2nd week of Rio Paralympics

ANKARA

AA photo

As the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games draw nearer to a close, Turkey rose to 30th in the medal table on the seventh day of competition, having earned two golds, one silver and four bronzes for a total of seven medals.

Turkey rose from 45th to 30th on the medal table with gains by Abdullah Öztürk and Kübra Korkut, who earned gold and silver, respectively, in table tennis, in addition to Semih Deniz’s bronze in the 1500 meters.    

Pairing up with China’s Xingyuan Guo in the men’s singles table tennis final, Öztürk defeated his rival by a 3-1 score with sets of 10-12, 11-8, 11-4 and 11-5. 

Meanwhile Nesim Turan, competing against France’s Maxime Thomas in the same category, finished fourth as he lost by a 3-0 score 11-4, 11-9, 11-4. 

With his success, Öztürk became the second Turkish athlete to win a gold medal in the Games. Turkey scored its first gold in weightlifting from Nazmiye Muratlı, who hit a world record last week. 

In women’s singles table tennis, competing in the final against the Netherlands’ Kelly van Zon, Korkut earned a silver medal after she lost her sets 11-9, 11-9, 11-5. 

Meanwhile, in men’s athletics, Deniz finished third in the 1500 meters to earn bronze. 

Deniz set a personal record, finishing in 4:05.42 in the final, while Kenyan Mushai Kimani earned gold with a time of 4:03.25 and Brazilian Odair Santos earned silver with 4:03.85.