Türkiye’s deaf ladies’s nationwide basketball gamers are decided to make their voices heard by making success a actuality and making a victorious finale on the upcoming World Championship in Greece in June.
During an in-depth interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), each Özlem Şencan, head coach of the Crescent-Star squad, and Esin Bilgili, captain of the group, had encouraging phrases of self-belief forward of the upcoming World Championships in Greece.
Özlem Şencan stated, “We have already begun our preparations, and our team is comprised of 12 primary players. Additionally, we are engaging in screenings in various cities. We shall be hosting our inaugural camp in February and, before then, we shall be engaging in individual training sessions.”
Şencan stated that she assumed the helm of the group with the intention of competing within the Olympics and exclaimed: “Though we were not able to accomplish the success we desired at the Olympics, it was an incredible experience. We witnessed our adversaries, and the same will be true for the World Championship. Greece has a clear advantage since it is the host country. Additionally, there are the United States, Italy and Lithuania – all long-established teams that have been in this field for years. Yet, I believe that with a favorable draw, we shall be able to secure a medal.”
Şencan stated that she had acquired the ability of speaking with the athletes and that the trainers assisted her additional in that regard.
Team captain Esin Bilgili, born in Istanbul in 1994, proudly hails from a household of two siblings.
She revealed that, as a child, she suffered from listening to loss as a result of seizures; nonetheless, this didn’t cease her from pursuing her ardour for sports activities.
Despite her mom’s objections, she started enjoying soccer within the streets and later basketball in main college.
Esin proudly declared that regardless of her listening to impairment, she persevered and continued to play basketball professionally at Küçükçekmece Youth and Sports Club, earlier than transferring to Uşak Anadolu 64 Sports Club and pursuing her research at Uşak University.
She tenaciously skilled together with her friends, regardless of her incapacity, to achieve her targets.
Recounting her expertise of particular language remedy coaching as a toddler to enhance her speech, the captain of the Crescent-Star group stated: “I underwent hearing impaired training and speech therapy to ensure I could live life to the fullest, without any hindrances. Unfortunately, during my primary school years, I faced ridicule from my peers on account of the device I had to wear – but I was able to overcome my difficulties through sheer grit and determination, as well as the help of sports, which enabled me to erase my struggles from my memory.”
Esin Bilgili, in her journey to turning into the captain of the Deaf Women’s National Basketball Team, stated: “It was in 2014 when I was playing in Küçükçekmece that I met our coach Burcu Pelister, who enlightened me regarding the work of the federation, the national team and the various organizations. I was filled with delight and immediately joined the team. That year, we managed to secure the silver medal at the under-21 championship in Samsun. Despite the fact that we put up a valiant fight at the 2019 Poland, 2021 World Deaf Basketball Championship in Italy and last year’s Olympics in Brazil, the toughest part for me was not being able to clinch a medal. However, from this experience, we were able to gain invaluable knowledge that we can use in our future tournaments. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Noting their head begin on coaching this 12 months, the Crescent-Star athlete stated: “Our ambition was certainly stoked by Brazil. We intend to reach unprecedented heights with our new teammates. Our friends are training across different cities, and we keep each other informed of our progress and areas needing improvement. We are determined to be the leading force at the upcoming World Championship.”
She passionately stated that her household had all the time been her greatest supply of motivation and that they remained extremely supportive.
She talked about that her sister, who was additionally a coach, had been an amazing mentor for her.
She was decided to play basketball till she graduated and to take advantage of her training.
After that, she hoped to start out as an assistant coach and ultimately make her approach as much as turning into a head coach.
Esin stated that when she turned a mom, she would encourage her kids to take part on this sport.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
