Türkiye don record one of di fastest change for dia sport history, as di number of athletes don increase 63 times for di past 20 years, na wetin di Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports tok.

Di kontri dey enter wetin dem call golden age for sports, wit more people dey join, international success dey rise, and new facilities wey don bring sports closer to di people for di whole kontri, di statement tok.

For 2002, Türkiye get only 278,000 athletes wey no dey play football. By 2025, dat number don rise reach 17.6 million, including 7.1 million licensed athletes and over 4.5 million wey dey compete actively.

Sports clubs sef don increase four times, from 6,000 reach almost 25,000, wey show say grassroots opportunities don grow well well.

Officials tok say na di big investment for infrastructure wey cause dis kain leap. Stadiums, swimming pools, and athletics tracks don dey everywhere for di kontri, wey make sports dey easy for people wey no get di chance before.

Because of dis, sports no be privilege again, e don turn part of everyday life, dey attract more pikin dem and families to local programmes, and e dey promote sporting culture for di whole kontri.

Medal surge

Di international success dey show Türkiye internal growth. For 2002, Turkish athletes win only 1,481 medals for international competitions. By 2020, dat number don increase small reach 1,832.

But wetin follow na big jump: 4,418 medals for 2021, nearly 7,000 for 2022, over 8,400 for 2023, and record 9,747 for 2024.

By mid-2025, di kontri athletes don already gather 3,313 medals, wey show success for traditional, academic, and para-sports.

For di European Para Youth Games for Istanbul, Türkiye top di medal table wit 77 podium finishes, including 22 gold, 33 silver, and 22 bronze medals, wey show say dem dey strong for inclusive sports.

For di 2025 World Games for Chengdu, Turkish competitors carry one gold and four silver medals for martial disciplines. Eray Samdan win gold for men karate (kumite 60 kg), while Kubra Kocakus (women muaythai, 60 kg), Emin Ozer (men kickboxing, K-1 91 kg), Aybuke Kilinc (women kickboxing, point fighting 50 kg), and Inci Ece Ozturk (boules precision shooting) each carry silver.

Strong performances still happen for di 2025 Summer World University Games for Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, where Türkiye finish eighth overall wit 18 medals; 6 gold, 5 silver, and 7 bronze, wey be one of dia best performances so far.

Di standout victories include Sevval Cakal and Sude Yaren Uzuncavdar for taekwondo, Berke Akcam for di men 400m hurdles, Ozlem Becerek for di women discus throw, and di men compound archery team of Batuhan Akcaoglu, Yakup Yildiz, and Yunus Emre Arslan.

Individual brilliance sef dey add to di total. Turkish gymnast Adem Asil regain him European all-around title for di 2025 European Gymnastics Championships for Leipzig, as e score 82.398 to secure him second continental crown after him 2023 victory for Antalya.

Team sports no dey carry last. Di Turkish women volleyball team, wey dem dey call “Sultans of di Net,” secure silver for di FIVB World Championship for Thailand last week, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praise dem.

“I dey sincerely congratulate our National Women Volleyball Team, wey make our kontri proud as dem secure second place for di FIVB Women World Championship wey dem hold for Thailand,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tok for Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

For basketball, Turkish athletes still dey make history wit dia achievements. Di men national team reach di EuroBasket quarter-finals for di first time since 2009, as dem win six straight games for Riga, already pass dia total wins for di 2017 and 2022 tournaments.

“12 Giant Men” go face Poland for di EuroBasket quarter-finals on Tuesday evening.

Starting from a young age

Youth development na di main driver of dis growth. Since 2017, di Sports Talent Assessment programme don screen 9.1 million students, wey identify 456,000 wey get strong potential. More than one million children dem evaluate for di 2024–25 school year alone.

Plenty of dis athletes dey train now for Athlete Training Centres, wey don increase from 28 reach 61 for two decades and currently dey host over 4,100 young competitors.

Türkiye Olympic Preparation Centres (TOHM), wey dem establish for di first time during dis period, dey operate for 25 cities and dey train 1,279 athletes wey get Olympic dreams.

From di small beginning of just over quarter of a million athletes for 2002, Türkiye now get millions of participants and dey increase dia medal numbers. Two decades of investment don produce champions and change how di kontri dey see sports.