SPORTS
Yashar Dogu- the Turkish Sports Icon, Father of Turkish Wrestling
Baku, April 4, AZERTAC
Having dedicating his whole life to wrestling, Yashar Dogu, proudly labelled as the Father of Turkish Wrestling, is a renowned representative of the acclaimed athletes of Turkiye.
Yashar Dogu was born in Samsun, Turkiye in 1913.
He began practicing Turkish traditional wrestling style Karakucak in the village of Karli in Samsun.
His professional career began in 1938, as he was doing his military service.
A heavyweight of the Turkish wrestling, Dogu has been representing the Turkiye national wrestling team for 12 years, winning 6 championships out of 7.
Yashar Dogu secured his first Olympics medal in the 1948 London Olympic Games after winning all five matches. Dogu also claimed a gold medal in the 1951 World Wrestling Championships in Helsinki, Finland. He returned home with gold medals from the European Championships in 1946, 1947 and 1949.
The prominent Turkish wrestler ranked second in the 1936 European Championship held in Oslo, Norway after being defeated in one of his four games.
It was the first and only defeat he experienced in an international competition throughout his career.
Overall, Dogu had only one loss in 47 matches and finished 33 of 46 matches by pin.
As he ended his professional career, Dogu was heavily involved in coaching the young wrestlers.
Yashar Dogu died of a heart attack on January 8, 1961 and was buried in the Cebeci Military Cemetery in Ankara, Turkiye.