Turkish freestyle wrestlers Demirtaş, Akgül win gold at European Championships

Turkish freestyle wrestlers Soner Demirtaş and Taha Akgül won gold medals Sunday at the European Wrestling Championships held in Kaspiysk in Russia's northern Caucasus Republic of Dagestan.

Demirtaş defeated French competitor Zelimkhan Khadjiev 2-0 in the 74-kilogram finals.

The victory was Demirtaş's third consecutive European title. He was a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Demirtaş said he wanted to dedicate this medal to his family because "my father had a dream when I started wrestling."

"He wanted to see a champion. Four of his children were wrestlers. It was given to me to bring the dream to life," Demirtaş said.

Meanwhile, Akgül won against Georgian wrestler Geno Petriashvili 2-1 to become the European champion in the 125-kilogram category.

Akgül is the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the same category.

Turkey's Rıza Kayaalp also took gold on Tuesday in the Greco Roman category, marking his eighth European title.

In the women's competition, Turkey's Yasemin Adar and Elif Jale Yeşilırmak won gold medals on Thursday.