Türkiye’s underwater hockey national team, which has clinched the world championship title three times in a row at the Youth World Championships, is gearing up to extend their streak to four at the upcoming event in Malaysia from July 14 to 27.
Following the conclusion of the 24th and 17th Underwater Hockey Türkiye Championships at the Atatürk Swimming Pools Complex in the Seyhan district, the preliminary squad for the national team will gather for a training camp in Adana.
The camp will feature 45 athletes, both male and female, vying for spots on the final squad in the 19 and 24 age categories.
The selected team will compete at the Youth World Championships in Malaysia, marking the first edition of the event since the pandemic and the first in five years.
Having secured the youth world champion title in Spain in 2015, Australia in 2017, and England in 2019, Türkiye’s 24-and-under Underwater Hockey national team is aiming for another victory in Malaysia.
Kadir Kırlıoğlu, the technical committee chair of the Turkish Underwater Sports Federation and national team coach, stated to Anadolu Agency (AA) that the 24 and 17 age categories Türkiye Championships have concluded in Adana.
Kırlıoğlu mentioned that the preliminary squad will conduct their camp in Adana and added, “We are the reigning world champions in the under-24 category. We have won three consecutive world championships. We will participate in the World Championships in Malaysia in July with the selected players, and we will start preparing for the national team with the camp we will hold in Adana starting from next week.”
Kırlıoğlu also noted that this year, for the first time, the under-19 national team will also participate in the Youth World Championships.
Expressing his belief in their success, Kırlıoğlu continued, “No country has ever won three consecutive world championships. We are going for the fourth. I believe we will succeed. Our delegation will consist of an average of 45 people. We will go as the under-19 women’s and men’s teams and the under-24 women’s and men’s teams. Our goal is to win a medal and stand on the podium. I don’t know if we will be fortunate enough to win the fourth world championship, but I believe we will. We had not participated in the championships with the under-19 national team before. This year, we will participate for the first time. We also believe that we will achieve success with them. We are trying to catch a generation that can be successful.”
He also highlighted the success of the Elite national team, which has won the European championship title four times. “In the last World Championships, we finished third. We finished second in the previous one. We are successful in the seniors as well.”
