(Asghar Ali Mubarak )
ISLAMABAD (TNS); Turkish wrestler Reza Kayalp’s visit highlights sports diplomacy between Pakistan and Turkey. Turkish wrestling legend and five-time world champion Reza Kayalp, while addressing the media during his visit to Islamabad, has stressed the importance of sports diplomacy. He urged the Pakistani government to introduce wrestling at school and college levels, paving the way for young talent to emerge and flourish.
He described his visit as a reflection of the strong sports ties between Pakistan and Turkey. He noted the potential for strengthening bilateral cooperation in wrestling and other fields, encouraging deeper bilateral cooperation, and exchanging players. He said that sports are an important component of diplomacy, wrestling and other sports can be used for bilateral cooperation, athletic exchanges will strengthen relations between the two countries, wrestling needs to be developed at the grassroots level. Turkish wrestler Reza Kayalp was born on October 10, 1989 in the super heavyweight category. The Turkish wrestler has won two bronze medals and one silver medal at the 2012 London, 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Turkish wrestler is a five-time World Wrestling Championship champion and a gold medalist at the 2015 European Games in Baku. The Turkish wrestler has won the European Wrestling Championship eleven times, which is one of the record holders in the history of the competition. Among his other honors is winning two gold medals at the Mediterranean Games. The Turkish wrestler participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he defeated wrestlers from Venezuela, Azerbaijan, and Germany to reach the finals. In the finals, he won the silver medal, losing to Mikhailan Lopez of Cuba. He was present in the 130 kg weight category at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, where he defeated Momjan Abdullayev of Uzbekistan, Kiril Hryshchenko of Belarus, and Oscar Pino of Cuba to reach the finals. In the finals, he defeated Heikki Nabi of Estonia to win the gold medal. He was present in the 130 kg Greco-Roman wrestling category at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan, where he defeated Yasmani Acosta of Chile, Meng Lingzhi of China, Iakobe Gajaya of Georgia, and Eduard Popp of Germany to reach the finals. He won the gold medal in the 130 kg category by defeating Cuba’s Oscar Pino in the final. He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the 130 kg Greco-Roman wrestling event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defeating Lithuania’s Mantas Knestatas and Germany’s Eduard Popp in the first and second matches, but lost to Cuba’s Mikhayen Lopez in the semifinals. He won the bronze medal in the 130 kg category by defeating Iran’s Amin Mirzazadeh in the qualification match. World Wrestling Championships 2023 Competed in the 130 kg Greco-Roman wrestling event at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, where he defeated Ukraine’s Oleksandr Chernitsky, Romania’s Alan Alexuj, and Uzbekistan’s Momjan Abdullayev to reach the final. He lost to Iran’s Amin Mirzazadeh in the final and won the silver medal. Olympics Honours;
Bronze London 2012 Summer Olympics – 130 kg
Silver Rio 2016 Summer Olympics – 130 kg
Bronze Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics – 130 kg
World Championships;
Bronze Herning World Wrestling Championship 2009 – 120 kg
Bronze Moscow World Wrestling Championship 2010 – 120 kg
Gold Istanbul World Wrestling Championship 2011 – 120 kg
Silver Budapest World Wrestling Championship 2013 – 120 kg
Silver Tashkent World Wrestling Championship 2014 – 130 kg
Gold Las Vegas World Wrestling Championship 2015 – 130 kg
Gold Paris World Wrestling Championship 2017 – 130 kg
Gold Nur-Sultan World Wrestling Championship 2019 – 130 kg
Gold World Wrestling Championship Belgrade 2022 – 130 kg
Silver World Wrestling Championship Belgrade 2023 – 130 kg
European Championship;
Gold European Wrestling Championship Baku 2010 – 120 kg
Silver European Wrestling Championship Dortmund 2011 – 120 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Belgrade 2012 – 120 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Tbilisi 2013 – 120 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Vinnytsia 2014 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Riga 2016 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Novi Sad 2017 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Kaspiysk 2018 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Bucharest 2019 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Warsaw 2021 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championship Budapest 2022 – 130 kg
Gold European Wrestling Championships Zagreb 2023 – 130 kg
Silver European Wrestling Championships Bucharest 2024 – 130 kg
European Games;Gold Baku European Games 2015 – 130 kg; The Turkish wrestler was suspended for six months in August 2013 for making racist remarks.
