Topic: News: Naim Suleymanoglu will consider federation top post

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Suleymanoglu will consider federation top post "only if offered by consensus’"

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Naim Süleymanoğlu with the late Turkish President Turgut Özal.

Naim Süleymanoğlu, considered the best weightlifter in the world, reacted strongly to the disappointing performance of Turkish weightlifters in Beijing. The legendary weightlifter, who underlined that Turkish weightlifting has gone back 20 years, also noted that the practice of naturalizing successful foreign players should be abandoned.

A legendary weightlifter, Süleymanoğlu caused many Turks to sob out of joy and excitement as he lifted three times his own weight. Süleymanoğlu, the best weightlifter of all times, the winner of the 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympic titles, the breaker of many records, sat down to speak with Sunday's Zaman.

Bünyamin Sudaş, Nurcan Taylan and Taner Sağır have been a big disappointment in the Beijing Olympic Games. None of these athletes could even make it to the standings. What do you think of all this?

I can only speak about Taner Sağır among the athletes you mentioned. He arrived in Beijing hoping to win the title. I was upset by his disappointing performance. He should have started with a more reasonable weight. Unfortunately, he was unable to carry through. I have nothing to say about the other athletes. Their performance does not concern me at all because we did not expect anything from them anyway.

Only Sibel Gümüş won a silver medal so far in the ongoing Beijing Olympics. What should be done in weightlifting?

Sibel should work harder. [Turkey's] weightlifting team should have preserved its past in these Olympics, but that did not happen. Our weightlifting team made progress after I won the title in the Olympic Games in the 1980s. Since then, Halil Mutlu, Fedai Güler and Ergun Batmaz made it to the top. In the Beijing Olympics, our weightlifting team returned to where it was prior to the 1980s. Hasan Akkuş protected Turkish weightlifting, but I think reform is necessary at this point.

The Turkish Weightlifting Federation will hold elections for the chairmanship post soon. Are you considering running for the presidency?

President Akkuş won the presidency with the team we supported. He did a good job. If Akkuş is a candidate, I will support him. If he does not run, I will consider running. What I'm thinking is that I'll run for president only if all the delegates unanimously support me as the sole candidate, or else I will not run for the post.

Naturalized foreign players have been discussed extensively. What is your opinion on this?

I am absolutely opposed to naturalized athletes. Turkey should tap into its own resources. Our country should be able to survive in sports relying on its own sons. We have to promote and spread weightlifting through primary schools, high schools and colleges. The goal does not necessary have to be winning medals. Our goal should be the creation of a culture of sports. This is what I want. Winning medals is not a very big deal. Importing athletes from Uganda and Kenya and then wining some medals is not real, this is just fooling the entire nation.

What do you think about the doping incident of Halil Mutlu? Mutlu was unable to return to his level of performance following this incident and failed to make it to the Beijing Games. Who is responsible for this?

Halil's case is unfortunate. He became upset after unknowingly taking a drug and could not focus on what he needed to do before the Games because he was banned from contests for two years. We would like for Halil to participate in tournaments, but the doping case has upset him. Is anyone responsible for this? I cannot say. Authorities exist now; there is a Sports General Directorate and there are inspectors. They should explain the case. Everything is recorded in the minutes and official documents of the general directorate. I know all this but cannot explain. You can find out who is responsible by reading the minutes kept at the general directorate.

The recent period of weightlifting has been painful. Is the future of Turkish weightlifting bright?

Turkish weightlifting went through a painful period after the Athens Olympics. Unfortunately, our weightlifting became a wreck because of scandals, doping cases and affairs in which the former federation chairman was involved. But thank God it was able to preserve its core. Our weightlifting team cannot be any worse than it is. It will hopefully make some progress in the future.

Let us go back to the old times; your flight from Bulgaria 20 years ago was a flash development in the world. Can you share your story with us -- especially if there remain untold parts? Were you not afraid of fleeing?

In those times, if you were caught fleeing, there was no jail or anything. You would immediately be executed. Back then, we suffered from extensive repression in Bulgaria. The government repressed 2.5 million Turks and our names were coercively changed. In an attempt to speak on behalf of those suffering, I took refuge in Turkey with the support and help of Turkish friends during the 1986 Olympics in Australia. With the assistance of then Prime Minister Turgut Özal, I was taken to Turkey.

Özal's place in your life is known. What does Özal bring to mind?

Turgut Özal did an incredible job in Turkey in many fields. Most importantly, he gave direction to Turkish sports. He proved his affinity to sports by bringing me to the country and issued exclusive directives for athletes. He holds a special place for me that I cannot describe in words, for doing so would be disrespectful.

You served as an executive in the weightlifting federation. What should be done in the sports organization?

Every federation chairman is ambitious and assertive. He or she easily convinces the superior bodies of his or her own superior abilities. But I can say that our weightlifting chairman works hard and effectively. However, some federations only receive incentives while they do nothing. Unfortunately, the current Youth and Sports General director, Mehmet Atalay, fails to comprehend what is going on with the federations, or he is being fooled. If you ask why, I would say that we can draw this conclusion considering current results. A comprehensive revision is required to make progress in Turkish sports. Moreover, politicians should refrain from interfering in the federation's elections. An inspection body charged with supervising the presidents of the federations should be established for each federation. This is the model followed by China; and what they did in the Olympics speaks for itself. In addition, students who do well in physical education should be given more opportunities. Nepotism should be strictly curtailed.