Imran Özkaya
{{short description|Germany taekwondo practitioner}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| image =
| nickname =
| headercolor =
| nationality =
| citizenship =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1999|07|16}}
| birth_place = Ulm, Germany
| residence =
| height = {{convert|181|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|63|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
| country = Germany
| sport = Taekwondo
| event = –63 kg, –68 kg
| club = Taekwondo Varol Neu-Ulm
| turnedpro =
| coach = Senol Varol
| worlds =
| regionals =
| nationals =
| olympics =
| highestranking = 16 (2023)http://www.worldtaekwondo.org/ranking/ranking.html
| pb =
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry | {{GER}} }}
{{Medal|Sport| Men's taekwondo }}
{{MedalCompetition|European Championships}}
{{MedalGold|2023 Tallinn|68 kg}}
{{MedalBronze|2022 Manchester|63 kg}}
{{MedalCompetition|European U21 Championships}}
{{MedalBronze|2019 Helsingborg|63 kg}}
| show-medals =
| updated = 21 July 2024
}}
Imran Özkaya (born 16 July 1999) is a German taekwondo athlete.{{cite web | url=https://www.taekwondodata.com/imran-zkaya.ainh.html | title=TaekwondoData }}
Career
Imran Özkaya is an athlete in the Olympic kyorugi taekwondo discipline and has been competing in international tournaments since 2012. In 2019, he won his first major medal at an international competition with a bronze medal at the U21 European Championships in Helsingborg.{{Cite web |title=Taekwondo: Imran Özkaya kämpft für Deutschland bei der EM {{!}} Regio TV |url=https://www.regio-tv.de/cmms-embed/170904 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=www.regio-tv.de}}
Özkaya took part in the 2021 European Taekwondo Championships in Sofia in the under 68 kg competition, but did not reach the podium.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-19 |title=Turkey claim three golds on first day of European Taekwondo Championships |url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1123369/turkey-three-golds-european-taekwondo |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=www.insidethegames.biz}} In 2022, he won one of the bronze medals in the 63 kg weight class at the 2022 European Taekwondo Championships held in Manchester, England.{{cite web | url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1123369/turkey-three-golds-european-taekwondo | title=Double delight for Turkey on last day of European Taekwondo Championships }}
Özkaya competed at the World Championships in Guadalajara and Baku in 2022 and 2023 as well as the 2023 European Games in Kraków. At the 2023 Multi European Games in Sarajevo he claimed second place in the weight class up to 63 kg.{{Cite web |title=TaekwondoData |url=http://www.taekwondodata.com/ |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=TaekwondoData |language=en}}
In Tallinn, Estonia, Özkaya won the gold medal in the men's -68 kg competition at the 2023 European Taekwondo Championships in the olympic weight classes.{{Cite web |title=Upcoming events – Europe Taekwondo |url=https://europetaekwondo.org/documents/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |language=en-US}}
In March 2024, he participated in the European qualification tournament for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, where he lost to Zinedin Becovic from Montenegro in the quarter-finals.https://europetaekwondo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EQT-Olympic-P11-Competition-Draw-Sheet-DAY-2-10-MAR-2024.pdf He therefore did not qualify a quota place for the 68 kg weight category at the Olympic Games, as this would have required him to reach the final.{{Cite web |title=[World Taekwondo] Paris 2024 Olympic Games Qualification System |url=http://m.worldtaekwondo.org/competition/view.html?nid=139989&mcd=L06 |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=m.worldtaekwondo.org}}{{Cite web |date=2024-03-10 |title=[World Taekwondo] Paris 2024 Olympic Games Qualification System |url=http://m.worldtaekwondo.org/competition/view.html?nid=139989&mcd=L06 |access-date=2024-03-10 |archive-date=2024-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310111927/http://m.worldtaekwondo.org/competition/view.html?nid=139989&mcd=L06 |url-status=bot: unknown }}
Personal life
Özkaya is a Soldier-Athlete (German: Sportsoldat) with the sports promotion group of the Bundeswehr (German: Sportfördergruppe der Bundeswehr).{{Cite web |last=Schöttl |first=Stephan |title=Neu-Ulmer Taekwondoka träumt von Olympia 2024 |url=https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/neu-ulm/sport/kampfsport-neu-ulmer-taekwondoka-traeumt-von-olympia-2024-id62170061.html |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=Augsburger Allgemeine |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=SWP |date=2023-08-04 |title=Taekwondo: Imran Özkaya: Der Ulmer Kampfsportler gibt alles für seinen Traum von Olympia |url=https://www.swp.de/sport/mehr-lokalsport/ulm/taekwondo-imran-oezkaya_-der-ulmer-kampfsportler-gibt-alles-fuer-seinen-traum-von-olympia-71332867.html |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=swp.de |language=de}}
External links
- {{World Taekwondo profile|7677c012-5560-48fb-9652-be0fb1dcf9fb}}
- {{World Taekwondo ranking|11e6eef5-98f0-1e1c-92b4-12f817a4f090}}
- {{sports links}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Özkaya, Imran}}
Category:German male taekwondo practitioners
Category:European Taekwondo Championships medalists
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:European Games competitors for Germany