Yeliz Özel (born 6 March 1980, in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

) is a Turkish retired handballer, who last played for İzmir Büyükşehir Bld. GSK and the Turkish national team. She is widely considered the best handball player ever from Turkey.

Club career

She started her career in Ankara team PTT, played the first European Cup level matches the same year. With outstanding skills in game-reading, Yeliz was labelled as a 'prominent young talent' by several handball experts. She transferred to Norway League for

Byåsen HE Byåsen Håndball Elite is the women's handball team of the Norwegian multi-sports club Byåsen IL based in Trondheim. The team plays in REMA 1000-ligaen, the top division in the country, since its promotion in 1982. The team's first success c ...

in Trondheim, played there one full season. Then she came back to Turkey to play in Eskisehir Anadolu Üniversitesi GSK and Üsküdar Bld. SK. In 2004, Yeliz went to Skopje to playing for

Kometal Gjorče Petrov Skopje WHC Gjorche Petrov () is a female handball club based in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. History The club was founded in 1979 under the name ''Women's Handball Club Gjorče Petrov''. Kometal Gjorče Petrov stopped its work on 16 Septem ...

. After a brilliant stint there, she was one of the best players of

EHF Champions League The EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men's com ...

2004–05 season. She scored 61 goals and made a huge contribution to promote her team final. In June 2010, Yeliz Özel signed for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

's top club

CS Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public sec ...

. She played two seasons in Romania before returning to her home country. Özel returned to home country in June 2012 to rejoin her former team Üsküdar Bld. SK. After one season, she transferred to the

-based team Yenimahalle Bld. SK. In the 2023–24 Turkish Women's Handball Super League season, she transferred to Yalıkaval SK in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

. She won the champions title after the season play-offs. The next season, she won once again the champions title.

International career

Özel was a member of the

Turkey women's national handball team The Turkey women's national handball team is the national handball team of Turkey for women and is managed by the Turkey Handball Federation. The team achieved second place in Mediterranean Games in 2009 and championship in Islamic Solidari ...

and served as their captain. She was part of the team that won the silver medal at the

2009 Mediterranean Games The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the International Committee of Mediterran ...

held in

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, Italy. In 2017, she won the silver medal with the national team at the

Islamic Solidarity Games The Islamic Solidarity Games () is a multinational, multi-sport event. Managed jointly by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA), the Games involve elite athletes of the OIC competing in a ...

Baku 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 ...

, Azerbaycan. In April 2022, Yeliz Özel retired from the national team after 27 years.

Honours

Club

;

Turkish Women's Handball Super League The Turkish Women's Handball Super League () is the top professional league for Turkish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Turkey Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Turkish champions. Established in the 1978– ...

* ''Champions'' (5): 2003–04, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2023–24, 2024–25 * ''Runners-up'' (2): 2012–13, 2013–14 ;

Women's EHF Champions League The EHF Women's Champions League is the competition for the top women's handball clubs in Europe, organised annually by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the most prestigious tournament for clubs, with the champions of Europe's top na ...

* ''Runner-up'' (1): 2004–05

International

;

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

* ''Runner-up'' (1): 2009 ;

: ''Silver medal'' (1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

References

External links

EHF profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozel, Yeliz 1980 births Living people Handball players from Ankara Turkish female handball players Anadolu Üniversitesi GSK (women's handball) players Turkey women's national handball players 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Romania Turkish expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia Turkish expatriate handball players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Handball players at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Handball players at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in handball SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea (handball) players Üsküdar Belediyespor players Yenimahalle Bld. SK (women's handball) players Islamic Solidarity Games silver medalists for Turkey Yalıkavak SK players Expatriate handball players in North Macedonia Expatriate handball players in Norway Expatriate handball players in Romania