“We had our issues in previous years but I am free to say that most of those are solved this year. Our team is committed, our fighters are committed”, this is how Turkish captain Burak Yarar began his story about the process of forming the national team of his country in an interview with HMBIA News.

According to him, this year he notes the growth of interest in HMB in the country and admits that he is very encouraged by the development of the sport in Turkey.

“For the first time since we joined the HMB family, we are able to select fighters rather than accept whoever is willing and able to go. We have both new and old faces, which means our reputation in our country is growing and our sport is getting known by more people every year”, said Burak. 

Last year, although the Covid-19 pandemic prevented Turkish HMB athletes from getting together and evaluating their current situation, they are constantly planning personal training programs, and the training program which will allow them to quickly catch up for the lost time by the time the lockdown is lifted which is expected by spring. For now gyms in Turkey are closed, so everybody takes care of their own personal training. According to Burak, after the restrictions are lifted and it will be possible to get together again, and candidates for a place in the national team will gather to decide who can most successfully represent the country in each category of the World Championship in HMB Battle of the Nations 2021.

“Our selection process is pretty much the same for every other country with small numbers of fighters, we let everyone perform their best in both soft and steel gear, we still gotta decide logically, somebody who has lots of stamina may not always be the best choice for 5v5 if he acts all solo and gets himself brought down. This goes without saying that teamwork is our top priority for the buhurt section of our team”. 

As for the duels it seems to be already set on who will represent HMB Turkey team in which categories. In addition, the captain has shared great news with us. The Turkish team will include a female fighter who will perform in one of the women’s duel categories. In which one, we will certainly inform you in our next publications, where we will get to know this new star.

“With this, I hope that 2021 will be our best year in Battle of the Nations and in any HMB event yet; bad luck and the lack of confidence has not left us alone last year, hard training and a little bit of fortune may bring us the success and confidence we all need for years to come, especially for the next BotN in 2023 since we will join the host city race once again!

I would also like to personally wish all the best for my fellow fighters, marshals, HMBIA officials, representatives and volunteers and also the fans all around the world for keeping their nerves of steel and staying true to the motto “strength and honor”. Thank you”.

From our side, HMBIA News thanks Burak Yarar for a fantastic and insightful conversation and we can’t wait to meet the HMB Turkey team in Romania!