Turkish taekwondo champ helps quake-affected kids overcome disaster
Turkish taekwondo champion Esra Çiftçi, a survivor of the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes, finds solace in training young athletes, aiming to inspire and normalize life after loss while nurturing dreams of competing internationally again
ESRA Çiftçi, a Turkish national taekwondo champion from Gaziantep’s Nurdağı district, is coping with the effects of the Feb. 6, 2023 twin earthquakes, where she lost many loved ones, by nurturing young athletes.
Starting taekwondo at a young age, inspired by a friend, the 23-year-old Esra Çiftçi has achieved numerous national and international titles.
However, the earthquakes in Nurdağı took a toll on her, leading to the loss of many relatives.
Taking a break from competitions due to psychological strain, Esra decided to support the normalization process in her district by providing taekwondo training to children.
After the earthquake, Esra started training her students in the mosque, then in a container, and now in the public education center’s gymnasium. She aims to compete internationally again.
Esra, who has won many awards in national and international competitions, including the Balkan Championship and the World Taekwondo Presidency Cup, described how the earthquake affected her life: “I was caught in the earthquake in Nurdağı the night I returned from an international competition in Istanbul. After that, I could not progress in competitions, I suffered a loss, the earthquake affected me greatly. I was in a psychological collapse due to our losses, I couldn’t do it and took a break. My coach encouraged me to open a course to improve my psychology, I decided I could do it. Life goes on, I started well, bad. I enjoy dealing with the children, I am very happy because I do this branch. They are all like my children, I love them sincerely, a different bond has formed. I try to overcome the effects and process of the earthquake with the children. I gather myself with them. We have talented children, I think they will all go to good places.”
Esra misses competing and hopes to wear the national jersey again and wave the Turkish flag proudly in the future.
She contributes to the normalization process after the earthquake, providing taekwondo training to 20 girls and 30 boys, aiming to make a difference in society:
“As a woman athlete, I am contributing to the normalization of life. I am training athletes, thus contributing to society. After I gather myself during this process, I want to focus on competitions again. Despite the earthquake, when I feel good about myself in the future, I will be successful in competitions for Türkiye, and I will work hard for this. The children I train want to pursue the sport by admiring me and watching me, and I try to be a good source of motivation for them.”