ANTALYA, Türkiye
The world’s No. 1 seed in the men’s quad category in tennis, Niels Vink from the Netherlands, praised an international tournament in Turkiye’s Antalya for having nice weather and top-quality hotels, food and courts.
The gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games has been competing in the BNP Paribas Wheelchair World Team Championship European Qualifiers in Antalya.
Vink told Anadolu that he was pleased to participate in the tournament.
“I love the weather, hotels and food in Antalya. I always go in the summer on holiday to Turkiye. Most of the time to Side, so I love it here,” he said. “It is a very good tournament in Antalya. It is great that there are so many courts at the Alibey Club and people are doing their best to make a good tournament.”
He said Turkish Paralympic tennis players could win gold at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“Yes, I think it is possible. Now we see that Ahmet Kaplan from Turkiye is in our category. He is currently No. 4 in the world. But he has beaten the No. 1, 2 and 3 in the world. So, he is there,” he said.
Vink advised Turkish Paralympic tennis players to “just enjoy and work as hard as you can” on the way to success.
On how he won gold medals in the quad singles and doubles in Paris, Vink said, “I have won gold in the quad singles and quad doubles. It is a category for players that have a disability not only on their legs but also at their arms. It was really a dream that became reality. I worked so hard in training and tournaments to achieve this dream.”
About his success in Paris, Vink said, “I think it is the enjoyment of being there and my hard work on the practice before the Games.”
For the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, he said, “Of course I believe I can win gold again. But, I have to be the best version of myself to win it.”
The BNP Paribas Wheelchair World Team Cup European Qualifiers started Wednesday.
The tournament, which will continue until March 23 at the Alibey Club in Manavgat, will feature 60 athletes from 15 countries trying to take their teams to the World Cup Finals.
The qualifying stages are being organized in Asia, America, Africa and Europe before the Finals. Turkiye will host the World Cup Finals in Manavgat from May 6-11.
