taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
practitioner competing in the heavyweight division. Ali Sarı is a student of
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
at
Selçuk University
Selçuk University ( tr, Selçuk Üniversitesi) is a state-owned higher educational institution which was founded 1975 in Konya, Turkey. It is one of the largest universities in Turkey with a student body of 63,000 of which 2,200 are foreign stu ...
.
Early life
Ali Sarı was born on November 24, 1986, in
Beyşehir
Beyşehir () is a large town and district of Konya Province in the Akdeniz region of Turkey. The town is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Beyşehir and is marked to the west and the southwest by the steep lines and forests of the Taurus ...
town in
Konya Province
Konya Province ( tr, ), in southwest Central Anatolia, is the largest province of Turkey. The Province, provincial Capital (political), capital is the city of Konya. Its traffic code is 42.
The Kızılören solar power plant in Konya will be ...
to a dentist father. He has two younger brothers Yunus and
Talha
Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī ( ar, طَلْحَة بن عُبَيْد اللّه التَّيمي, ) was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is mostly known for being among ('the ten to whom Paradise was ...
, who are also successful taekwondo practitioners. After his primary and secondary education in his hometown, he enrolled in Selçuk University's Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, at
Konya
Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...
.
Sports career
Ali Sarı began with taekwondo practitioning already at the very young age. His family built a sports center with three floors, where he and his brothers exercised with young people in the town. Living currently in Konya for his university education with his two brothers, Ali Sarı is coached by
Ekrem Boyalı
Ekrem Boyalı (born 15 July 1970) is an Olympian Turkish former Taekwondo practitioner and coach.
Early years and family life
Ekrem Boyalı was born on 15 July 1970 in Konya, Turkey. In 1998, Boyalı went to the United States to complete his u ...
.
His first national success came in 1998 when he became Turkish boys' champion in the +36 kg division. In 2001, he placed third at the Turkish Youth Championships. Ali Sarı was admitted to the national team in 2006, and took the second place at the national championship the same year.
In 2007, he placed third in the +84 kg division at the
2007 Summer Universiade
The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, ...
in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In 2012, Sarı took the bronze medal in the -87 kg division at the European Championships in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, United Kingdom. He became champion in the +80 kg division at the
2013 Mediterranean Games
The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...
in
Mersin
Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
, Turkey.
Achievements
* 2007 Summer Universiade, Bangkok, Thailand, -84 kg
* 2008 World University Taekwondo Championships, Belgrade, Serbia
* 2010 Northern Cyprus Open
* 2010 French Open,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
* 2011 Summer Universiade, Shenzhen, China, +87 kg
* 2012 European Championships, Manchester, United Kingdom, -87 kg
* 2012 Spanish Open,
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
* 2013 Dutch Open,
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,
* 2013 Mediterranean Games, Mersin, Turkey, +80 kg