Atagün Yalçınkaya (born December 14, 1986) is a Turkish

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

(54 kg) division best known for winning the silver medal in the light-flyweight category at the 2004 Olympics.

Amateur

Yalçınkaya started boxing from a young age and won six titles in the schoolboy and cadet categories in Turkey. He was successful as a teenager at international tournaments with a 2003 1st place win in the Balaton Tournament in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, a 3rd place in Green Hill Cup,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and a 1st place in European Students Boxing championship,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Yalçınkaya qualified for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

by ending up in second place at the 4th AIBA European 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in

Baku, Azerbaijan Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. He competed at light-flyweight in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and won a silver medal for Turkey on August 29, 2004, by beating Italy's Alfonso Pinto and reigning world champion Sergey Kazakov of Russia. At age 17, he was the youngest medal-winning sportsman in Turkish Olympics history. * Defeated Jolly Katongole (Uganda) 22-7 * Defeated

Jeyhun Abiyev Jeyhun Abiyev (; born October 24, 1974, in Baku) is a retired male light flyweight boxer from Azerbaijan. Abiyev competed for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he was stopped in the second round of the men' ...

(Azerbaijan) 23-20 * Defeated Alfonso Pinto (Italy) 33-24 * Defeated Sergey Kazakov (Russia) 26-20 * Lost to Yan Bartelemí Varela (Cuba) 16-21 He went up to

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

(51 kg) afterwards and won the Mediterranean Games in Almeria,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at the 2005 world championships (Mianyang, China) he defeated Andrzej Rzany (Poland) 20-13 but lost to

Georgy Balakshin Georgy Ruslanovich Balakshin (; born March 6, 1980, in Antonovka, near Nyurba, Sakha Republic) is an Olympic boxer from Russia best known for winning the European title three times. Career Balakshin won the gold medal in 2002 and defended ...

(Russia) 15-36. At the European Championships 2006 he lost early to Englishman Stuart Langley. Later he competed at bantamweigh

Yalçınkaya, 1.65 m tall, is a member of Fenerbahçe Boxing, Fenerbahçe SKFenerbahçe Boxing squad
/ref> and is coached by Enver Yilmaz.

Pro

In 2008 he signed a contract with German-based Ahmed Öner and turned pro in March 2008.

References

External links

* 1986 births Living people Boxers from Ankara Fenerbahçe boxers Olympic boxers for Turkey Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Turkey Olympic medalists in boxing Bantamweight boxers Light-flyweight boxers Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Turkish male boxers Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in boxing 21st-century Turkish sportsmen {{Turkey-Olympic-medalist-stub