Wikipedia

Zeliha Kendir

Zeliha Kendir (born 4 October 2001) is a Turkish field and indoor hockey player. She is a member of Gaziantep Doruk SK and part of the Turkey national field and indoor hockey teams.[1]

Zeliha Kendir
Personal information
Born (2001-10-04) 4 October 2001 (age 24)
Gaziantep, Turkey
Sport
SportField hockey
ClubGaziantep Doruk SK
National team
Years Team Caps Goals
– Turkey -
Medal record
Representing  Turkey
Women's Indoor hockey
EuroHockey Indoor Championship II
Gold medal – first place2026 LousadaTeam
Women's Field hockey
EuroHockey Championship III
Silver medal – second place2025 AlanyaTeam
Gold medal – first place2023 ZagrebTeam
EuroHockey U21 Championship III
Gold medal – first place2022 AlanyaTeam

Early years

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Kendir started her hockey playing career at the age of twelve with the encouragement of her physical education teacher when she got to know indoor hockey she was curious about. In the beginning, her parents, who were against her choice of sport because of her sex, had to be persuaded by her teacher. After six months of training, she took part at a tournament, which her team took the first place. Her family supported her when she achieved success.[2][3]

Club career

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She won the champions title at the 2021–22 Turkish Women's Indoor Hockey Super League with her team Gaziantep Doruk SK, and was named the Most valuable player (MVP).[4] As part of Gaziantrp Doruk SK, she played at the 2023 Women's EuroHockey Club Challenge II in Vienna, Austria.[5]

In November 2023, the Menteşe, Muğla-based club Ege Yıldızları SK transferred the striker of Gaziantep Doruk SK Kendir to strengthen the team.[6]

Returned to her initial club Gaziantep Doruk SK, she took part at the 2026 Women's EuroHockey Indoor Club Trophy in Lambersart, France.[7]

International career

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Kendir was admitted to the national team already at the age of fourteen.[2]

Indoor hockey

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With the Turkey women's U18 indoor hockey team, she played at the 2019 Women's EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship in Tarnowskie Góry, Poland.[8][9]

She played at the 2022 Women's EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Hamburg, Germany,[10] and at the 2024 Women's EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Berlin, Germany.[11]

She was part of the national indoor hockey team, which won the gold medal at the 2026 Women's EuroHockey Indoor Championship II in Lousada, Portugal.[12] She was instrumental with her goals for Turkey's champions title and the promotion to the higher championship level next time.[13]

Field hockey

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As part of the Turkey women's U21 field hockey team, she won the gold medal at the 2022 Women's EuroHockey Junior Championship III in Alanya, Turkey,[14] and was named the MVP.[15]

She captured the gold medal with the national field hockey team at the 2023 Women's EuroHockey Championship III in Zagreb, Croatia.[16][17]

She took the silver medal with the national field hockey team at the 2025 Women's EuroHockey Championship III in Alanya, Turkey.[18][19][20][21]

Personal life

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Zeliha Kendir was born in Gaziantep, Turkey on 4 October 2001.[1] She has six siblings.[2][3]

After finishing the high school, she attended Sports Science Faculty of Gaziantep University in 2019, and studied Physical education and Sports to become a school teacher.[2][3][15][12]

Honours

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Zeliha Kendir" (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Yılmaz Karakurum, Meltem (3 January 2020). "Milli hokeyci Zeliha Kendir'in hedefi kendi gibi sporcular yetiştirmek". Anadolu News Agency (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Milli hokeyci Zeliha'nın inadı". Sabah (in Turkish). 5 January 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Kadınlar Salon Hokeyi Süper Lİig 2. Etap Şampiyonu Gaziantep Doruk". Alanya Haber (in Turkish). 9 February 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "EuroHockey Club Challenge II 2023 Women WAC v DORUK". EuroHockey. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "A Milli Takımı'nın golcüsü Zeliha Kendir Muğla'ya transfer oldu". Muğla Devrim (in Turkish). 7 November 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Kendir, Zeliha - Gaziantep Doruk SK (TUR)". FIH. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Kendir, Zelih - EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship (W) 2019a". FIH. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship (W) 2019". FIH. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "EuroHockey Indoor Hockey Championship 2022 (W) Match Report - Türkiye 6-7 Ukraine". FIH. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "EuroHockey Indoor Championship Women 2024 BEL v TUR". FIH. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Kadın Millî Hokey Takımında Gaziantep gururu". Gaziantep Söz (in Turkish). 21 January 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Italy and Türkiye make the big moves on day one in Lousada". EuroHockey. 16 January 2026. Cite error: Unknown parameter "name.<ref" in <ref> tag; supported parameters are dir, follow, group, name (see the help page).
  14. ↑ "EuroHockey Junior ChanpionshipIII 2022 Women Match Report - Turkey 2*0 Lithuania". FIH. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  15. 1 2 "GAÜN Öğrencileri Avrupa'nın En Değerli Oyuncuları Seçildi" (in Turkish). Gaziantep Üniversitesi. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "EuroHockey Championship III 2023 Women TUR v GIB". FIH. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "EuroHockey Championship III 2023 Women". FIH. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "EuroHockey Championship III 2025 Women TUR v LUX". FIH. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "EuroHockey Championship III 2025 Women". FIH. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Kendir, Zeliha - EuroHockey Championship III 2025 Women". FIH. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Ukraine ease into Alanya final against Türkiye in women's EHC III". EuroHockey. 1 August 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
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