Mother-daughter duo becomes kickboxing champions

IZMIR

An athlete who won the European Cup four times in kickboxing, which she started with the aim of losing weight, and her mother, who also started training to support her daughter, have become world champions together.

Twenty-one-year-old Kübranur Alpkaan, who started kickboxing seven years ago to lose weight in the western province of Izmir, has won the Turkish championship eight times and the European Cup four times.

Alpkaan’s mother, Aslı Söylemez, 41, started kickboxing five years ago to support her daughter in training.

Dreaming of a double championship, mother and daughter worked day and night to make their dreams come true. The duo’s dream came true at the 8th International WAKO Kickboxing World Cup held at Istanbul TÜYAP Fairgrounds on May 17-21.

Alpkaan defeated her Norwegian opponent, while her mother defeated her Azerbaijani opponent, and both became champions.

Söylemez, who started kickboxing in 2018 and works in the medical accounting unit of a private hospital, stated that they made a promise to each other in 2018 to be champions together.

“Last year, there was another World Cup Championship in Istanbul. Kübra could not participate in the championship due to her injury, but I went to Istanbul and returned as a champion keeping the promise that I gave her. As she recovered from her injury, we went to Istanbul together this time, and we both became champions there,” Söylemez said.

Explaining how her mother decided to join her on this journey, Alpkaan stated that in 2018, she went to Italy with the National Team and returned without a degree.

“I was very sad. My mother started this sport both to motivate me and to train together. I am proud of my mom. She takes care of all the responsibilities of the house, has a career and is also an athlete. My next step is the world championship which will be organized in Portugal, and I also aim to become a champion there,” Alpkaan added.