Ergin’s family atmosphere the secret to Turkey’s success?

Turkish archery is in a good place. You could say it’s as strong as it’s ever been with a reigning Olympic Champion, depth of talent, strong set-up and the experience, knowledge and resource to host world-leading events.

There is also plenty of interest in the sport in the nation which bridges Europe and Asia.

That interest is spearheaded by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medallist Mete Gazoz, ably backed up by world number 15 recurve woman Yasemin Anagoz. The pair are close, having risen through the ranks together – competing as a pair at both Rio 2016 and in Tokyo.

Anagoz is also well-positioned to make a leap this season. She finished second at the 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final and recently picked up a team bronze in the 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships.

But she’s not alone. There’s the compound women’s world number 19, Yesim Bostan, who has numerous international accolades, plus compound men’s world number 10 Evren Cagiran, who’s transitioned into a coaching role this season. While Turkey’s para archery team also finished second in the medal table at the 2022 World Archery Para Championships in Dubai.

What does this list of accolades serve, you might ask? Gazoz might be the pinnacle of Turkish archery right now – but the depth in the programme is perhaps more important.

And it is not just the archers who are talented.

Turkey is at the forefront of the archery world this week as Antalya hosts the first stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup, continuing the long history of the venue as a home to some of the sport’s top events. It’s hosted a leg of the international tour in 15 of its 16 seasons. And over those 17 years (one lost due to the pandemic), much has changed.

“Turkish archery is now completely different,” head coach Goktug Ergin said on the sidelines of competition.

“Before, we always tried to develop a strategy or programme [just] for the Olympic Games but now we have a formula to get success in [all] types of competitions.”

“We have such a big Olympic pool of talent, with at least 16 archers in both recurve and compound. We are all living together and working very hard. I can say Turkish archery is getting better and better,” he said.

He should know. Ergin, an Olympian himself, has guided this new wave of Turkish archers for nearly a decade. Though his medal cabinet as an archer never ranked among the best of the best, as a coach – his programme has brought unprecedented success.

That success, of course, was capped by Mete’s Olympic gold medal last summer.

The likeable and effervescent Gazoz secured that historic result last July when he overcame Mauro Nespoli in the recurve men’s final in the arena in Yumenoshima Park. It instantly made him a star in Turkey, leading to numerous awards and commercial contracts, such as a clothing deal with Nike.

He also now has close to 250,000 followers on Instagram. 

This newfound fame for the current world number two recurve is something both Gazoz and Ergin are reminded of on a daily basis, with Mete’s gold medal-winning archery target face from the Olympics hanging on the wall in the coach’s office.

And it’s a target face with a huge number of wholes in and around the 10-ring.

“It’s really cool to have it,” admitted Ergin. “Every day we look at it and we start every day with those great memories.”

Now 22 years of age, Gazoz had been earmarked to become a success for Turkey for many years, winning World Archery Youth Championship team silver as far back as 2013 before shooting at the European Games as a senior in 2015 – at the age of 15.

In early 2019, Mete shot a European record 698-point qualifying round, which is yet to be beaten.

“It’s hard to put into words,” says Ergin about the journey the pair have been on. “I’ve known him since 2013, and since then it’s been almost every day working on this field in Antalya. We’ve spent 1,000s of hours together and shot millions of arrows.”

Gazoz and Anagoz joined forces at Tokyo 2020 in the Olympic debut of the mixed team event, but suffered heartbreak when they lost the bronze medal match to Mexico’s Luis Alvarez and Alejandra Valencia, 6-2.

Ergin credited Gazoz’s mindset in being able to put the disappointment of that result behind him – “one of the most difficult parts of archery” – to focus on securing the subsequent individual, historic gold.

Coaching has been a passion ever since Ergin stopped competing himself for Turkey. Now 37, he made his international debut in 1997, with his highlight competing at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Every coach has different experiences and different priorities, with Ergin emphasising the relationship with his archers as the most important factor in being a successful coach.

“We’re starting as a coach but you then learn to become a leader,” he explains. “There are different types of styles for coaches but, for me, the main thing is you should have complete knowledge of the sport.”

That, and an incomparable responsibility for the athletes in his charge.

“You become a grandfather, father or even sometimes mother for them because you have a lot of trips together and you spend so much time with them. You are there for them when they have good days and bad days,” he said. “You should be close enough to help them when they need it and you should be far away when they want some space. Relationships are one of the most important things.” 

The archery community is known for sharing and the success of Goktug’s programme hasn’t gone unnoticed. Antalya doesn’t just host teams during major events – but plenty come to practise in the off-season or between tournaments. It’s of benefit to both parties, helping to continue to raise the level of Turkish archers as well as their contemporaries.

“I know Germany and Spain very well as we have trained together here in Antalya,” he explained. “I know they are working hard, working good and their system will pay off in the near future.”

“They have both been consistently in the medals and I believe they will become really strong in the future.”

As a lover and observer of the sport in incredible detail, Ergin revealed his super-team, imagining that he could pick anyone from around the world to join forces in the pursuit of Olympic gold.

Spoiler alert – he included one of his own.

“It would be great to have Brady Ellison, Mete and Sjef van den Berg in the same team,” said Ergin with a smile. “Sometimes I think about this. Maybe it would be the best-ever team. It would be a dream.”

While that team is a dream, with Sjef having retired from the sport, Ergin continues to turn dreams to realities for Turkish archery.