Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Yavuz Kocaömer, the chairman of the Turkish National Paralympics Committee (TPMK) stated that the absence of Turkish athletes in Vancouver is a problem that should be discussed immediately to find comprehensive solutions.“We cannot send competitors to the Paralympics. We have no athletes. Turkey has failed to train [able-bodied] competitors for winter sports, so how can we send athletes to the Paralympic Games? People in Turkey do not believe that disabled people can be sportsmen,” said Kocaömer, adding that successes attained by disabled people are the result of individual efforts, not the consequences of systematic training provided by the state.
He also criticized the state for not having an effective policy in place to support sportspeople and train children to become national athletes.
“The federations that have been established to provide and build sporting opportunities for handicapped people have financial problems. The Galatasaray wheelchair basketball team has become the world champion and has four foreign players, but the federations don’t have enough money to transfer foreign players. They cannot even find sponsorship,” he noted.
