Turkey to host games for athletes with Down syndrome

ANKARA

Turkey is set to host 2020 Trisome Games, a global competition for the athletes with Down syndrome in the spring.

The tournament will be held in Antalya, a Mediterranean resort city, between March 31-April 7.

A total of 1,000 athletes from 37 countries will compete in the tournament, according to Ensar Kurt, the vice president of the Turkish Special Athletes Sports Federation.

Turkey will join the event with 120 athletes in eight categories.

The event will involve various competitions, including athletics, basketball, gymnastics, futsal, judo, tennis, table tennis and swimming.

Kurt told Anadolu Agency that Turkey is ready to host the second edition of the competition, known as Olympic Games for the athletes with Down syndrome, and the Turkish national team is also well-prepared to compete in the championships.

"We aim to claim more medals than we collected in the European championships," he said.

The tournament was first held in Italy in 2016.

The Turkish international gymnast Umit Samiloglu said they are working to increase the participation of people in sports, especially of children.

"We arrived at the camp to give support to our special athletes. They are so emotional and beautiful. We carried out a very enjoyable activity with them," Samiloglu said.

Ilhan Karanlik, the coach of the special athletes, said three of them are candidates to be crowned with the champion title in gymnastics.

* Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli