Team Akfen İnşaat athlete and national table tennis player Görkem Öçal won the silver medal after reaching the final at the U21 European Table Tennis Championships, despite being only 14 years old.

With this achievement in a category where he competed against athletes older than himself, Öçal once again demonstrated that he is one of the most remarkable young talents in Turkish table tennis on the international stage.

 National table tennis player Görkem Öçal, who is supported as part of the Team Akfen İnşaat project launched by Akfen İnşaat to contribute to the development of young national athletes, has achieved another significant success on the international stage.

Competing at the U21 European Table Tennis Championships held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 14-year-old Görkem Öçal became the European runner-up in the men’s doubles category together with his Italian partner Danilo Faso. The Öçal/Faso duo faced Germany’s Andre Bertelsmeier and Wim Verdonschot in the final and completed the tournament with a silver medal.

Despite being only 14 years old, Görkem Öçal reached the final in the U21 category, where he competed against older athletes, marking an outstanding achievement for Turkish table tennis. By advancing to a European final at U21 level, the young national athlete showed that he is among Europe’s leading players not only in his own age group, but also in higher age categories.

Delivering a strong performance throughout the tournament, Görkem Öçal advanced to the final after securing a decisive 3-0 victory in the semi-final against Connor Green of England and Mael Van Dessel of Luxembourg. With this result, the Öçal/Faso duo guaranteed a medal and took their place on the podium as European runners-up following the final match.

Having already drawn attention with his European championship titles in age categories, his rise in the world rankings and his performances at senior level, Görkem Öçal added another international success to his career by reaching the final of the U21 European Championships at the age of 14.