The 'Wild Flowers Project', which was launched by the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality to support talented girls in rural areas in their education and sports lives, continues to bear fruit. After their Turkish championships, the sports girls in the project are now achieving success worldwide and are the pride of Mersin.
Thanks to the project carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality in line with the principle of 'equal opportunities', sports girls are achieving important degrees both within the province and at the national level. However, the second place in the world achieved by 14-year-old Nidanur Turhan from Tarsus, who was raised in the Wild Flowers Project, in Serbia was recorded as the first major success of the project in the international arena.
World Pride from Nidanur to Mersin
Wildflower Nidanur Turhan brought great pride to Mersin by coming in second in the world in the shot put at the World High School Championship held in Serbia on April 9. Nidanur, who has won many first and second places in the 2 competitions she has participated in so far, has also won important places in competitions in cities such as Mersin, Bursa, Kayseri, İzmir, Konya and Gaziantep. This latest success in Serbia has become a source of hope, courage and inspiration for all girls in Mersin.
Nidanur: “I Achieved My Dreams with the Wildflowers Project”
Nidanur Turhan stated that thanks to the Wildflowers Project, she had the opportunity to focus on sports more seriously and was able to work in a well-equipped manner. “With the Wildflowers Project, a more serious and important period began for me. With Wildflowers, I did more serious and beautiful training with easier methods. I also made new and beautiful friends here. This place became my second family. Thanks to this, I had a more serious and more successful life,” she said.
Nidanur, who also talked about the benefits the project brought to her, said, “If it weren’t for the Wildflowers Project, I don’t think I would have been this successful. I achieved my dreams with the Wildflowers Project. This is truly a great opportunity for me. Lastly, I came in second in the world in the shot put branch at the High School World Championship I attended in Serbia. I would like to thank President Vahap Seçer and everyone who contributed to this project.”
Coach Kilisli: “We Enable Talented Children Who Have No Opportunity to Specialize”
Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Youth and Sports Services Department Coach Ali Kilisli drew attention to the importance of equal opportunities provided by the Wild Flowers Project. Kilisli said, “The field we use is not available everywhere in Mersin. There is limited access to such opportunities. The Wild Flowers Project is a project that allows our talented children who do not have the means, who come here under very difficult conditions, who cannot access these due to their financial situation; to specialize according to their talents and then achieve successes like Nidanur.”
“We Won’t Stop Until We Send Wildflowers to the Olympics”
Stating that girls continue their school and training lives regularly thanks to Wild Flowers, Kilisli said, “The athletes’ training, going to school, waking up, etc. always proceed in a certain order. Everything from their nutrition to their sleep progresses in a planned, programmed and professional manner. This is the biggest contribution of the project and we want them to apply this in their own lives as well. We aim for our girls to grow up as professional athletes.”
Kilisli, who said that they had crossed the horizons with the Turkish championships in the first stage, emphasized the long-term goals of the project by saying, “Now we will continue with the world championships and then the Olympics. We will not stop until we send athletes from Wild Flowers to the Olympics.”
