European, world and Olympic champion national wrestler Taha Akgül is preparing with the head wrestler Recep Kara for the Yaşar Doğu, Vehbi Emre and Hamit Kaplan Tournament to be held in Istanbul and the 2022 European Wrestling Championship to be held in Budapest, Hungary. Taha Akgül, who has resolved the problem of partnering at 125 kilos with the head wrestler Recep Kara since 2011, said in a statement, “He has contributed a lot to me. I have a lot of work. We are at the camp before Yaşar Doğu, Vehbi Emre and Hamit Kaplan Tournament. It will be a very important tournament. It will be in the form of rehearsal for the European championship. We have good competitors. Hopefully it will be good for us. Our goal is to win the 9th European championship. We are in good condition, we have no injuries. Let our people pray for us. My brother Recep will also wrestle in the best way in Kırkpınar. Despite his advancing age, he works devotedly and gives effort. This is our job, this is our bread. This is how we look professionally. I hope we will return with a gold medal,” he said.
Chief pehlivan Recep Kara, on the other hand, said that 30 years have passed on the mat and his age has reached 40, and said:
Today, I came here to support our brother Taha, who is preparing for the European championship, at the camp for training. I also train myself. I am preparing for the 2022 Historical Kırkpınar Wrestling here on the mat. I hope Taha will represent us in the best way in both the European and world championships and win the gold medal. I hope to reach the summit in Kırkpınar.’