Enes Erkan (born 10 May 1987) is a Turkish karateka. Competing in men's kumite in the +84 kg division, Erkan represented the Turkey national team and Sakarya Büyükşehir Belediyespor.[1][2] He became a two-time world champion by winning gold medals at the World Karate Championships in 2012 Paris and 2014 Bremen.[3][4] At the European Karate Championships, he won individual +84 kg gold medals in 2013 and 2014, and he became European Games champion in the same division at the 2015 European Games.[1][5]
| Enes Erkan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Erkan at the 2014 World Karate Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Enes Erkan 10 May 1987 Adapazarı, Sakarya, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Turkish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | +84 kg (185 lb; 13 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division | +84 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Style | Karate (kumite) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Sakarya Büyükşehir Belediyespor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Sakarya University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editErkan represented Turkey in international karate tournaments from the youth age categories onward. In 2003, he won the bronze medal in cadet kumite -70 kg at the World Cadet, Junior and Under-21 Karate Championships held in Marseille. In 2005, he won the bronze medal in cadet kumite -75 kg at the European Cadet and Junior Championships in Thessaloniki. In 2007, he became world junior champion in the -80 kg division at the World Cadet, Junior and Under-21 Championships in Istanbul. In 2008, he won the gold medal in the same division at the European Junior Championships in Trieste.[1]
In 2008, he won the bronze medal in men's kumite -80 kg at the 2008 European Karate Championships held in Tallinn, Estonia, one of his first major senior international results.[1] In 2009, he won the silver medal in men's kumite -84 kg at the 2009 European Karate Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.[1]
In 2012, he won the bronze medal in the +84 kg event at the 2012 European Karate Championships in Adeje, Spain.[1] The same year, he became world champion in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2012 World Karate Championships in Paris, France. He defeated Azerbaijan's Shahin Atamov 3–0 in the final to win the gold medal.[3]
In 2013, Erkan won the gold medal in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2013 European Karate Championships in Budapest, Hungary.[1] The same year, he won the silver medal in the +84 kg event at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin.[6] He also won the bronze medal in the +84 kg event at the 2013 World Combat Games in Saint Petersburg.[1]
In 2014, he became European champion for the second time in the +84 kg event at the 2014 European Karate Championships in Tampere, Finland.[1] Later that year, he won the second world title of his career at the 2014 World Karate Championships in Bremen, Germany. In the final, he defeated Iran's Sajad Ganjzadeh 5–4 to win the gold medal.[4]
In 2015, he won the silver medal in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2015 European Karate Championships in Istanbul. He lost 2–1 to Serbia's Slobodan Bitević in the final.[7] On the final day of the championships, the Turkey men's kumite team defeated France 3–2 to become European champion. The team included Yaser Şahintekin, Serkan Yağcı, Rıdvan Kaptan, Gökhan Gündüz and Enes Erkan.[8]
The same year, Erkan won the gold medal in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2015 European Games in Baku. He defeated Slobodan Bitević 2–1 in the semi-finals to reach the final, where he beat Germany's Jonathan Horne 2–1 to become European Games champion.[5] He was also the flag bearer for the Turkish delegation at the opening ceremony.[9]
In 2016, he won the bronze medal in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2016 European Karate Championships in Montpellier, France.[1] In 2017, he won the silver medal in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2017 European Karate Championships in Kocaeli.[1] At the same championships, he won the gold medal with the Turkey men's kumite team. The squad included Enes Erkan, Uğur Aktaş, Gökhan Gündüz, Rıdvan Kaptan, Serkan Yağcı, Alparslan Yamanoğlu and Muhammet Ali Yılmaz; Turkey defeated France in the final to become European champion in team kumite.[10] The same year, he won the silver medal in men's kumite +84 kg at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku. He lost to Iran's Sajad Ganjzadeh in the final and finished the tournament in second place.[2]
Personal life
editErkan was born on 10 May 1987 in Adapazarı, Sakarya. He studied at Sakarya University.[2]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "WKF Ranking – Enes Erkan". World Karate Federation / Sportdata. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Enes Erkan" (in Turkish). Turkish National Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Turkish karate player claims top title in world championship". Anadolu Agency. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Turkish karateka claims world title". Anadolu Agency. 8 November 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Milli karateci Erkan'dan altın madalya" (in Turkish). Anadolu Agency. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ "Turkey ranks first in karate at 2013 MedGames". Anadolu Agency. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ "50. Avrupa Büyükler Karate Şampiyonası'nda 3 gümüş ve bir bronz madalya" (in Turkish). Habertürk. 21 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ "50. Avrupa Büyükler Karate Şampiyonası: Türkiye son günü iki altınla kapadı" (in Turkish). Eurosport. 22 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ "Bakü'de tarihi açılış!" (in Turkish). NTV Spor. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ "Turkey is European Karate champion with most medals". Yeni Şafak. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2026.