”I believe the most important quality an archer can have is self-awareness. If you don’t know what you feel, where your strengths lie, or when to stop, then you can’t truly find your path to the target.”
When Emircan Haney delivered his 14th 10 of the match to seal the title as the 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final Champion, he ran straight back to his coach Mehmet Ejder Sozen – who burst into tears.
It was a moment an astonishing 15 years in the making. Haney, now 24, has worked with Sozen since he was nine years old.
“My coach and I share a bond like brothers,” said Haney. “He’s an idealist – determined, deeply faithful and also a medical doctor. He’s always pushed me to do better, never took the easy way and never gave up.”
“Working with him didn’t just make me a better archer; it shaped who I am as a person. The athlete I am today is largely the result of his belief in me.”
It was a perfect expression of the long-held, almost familial bonds often seen in Turkish archery – a long-term, multi-stranded approach of support from many levels and different directions.
In Haney’s case, his career has been supported by the Muğla local government on Türkiye’s Aegean Coast, which includes his hometown of Yatağan.
“Without that support, reaching this level would have been much harder,” he explained. “They made us feel valued – and that feeling has always been a great source of motivation.”
