Ayşegül Pehlivanlar


Ayşegül Pehlivanlar is a Turkish female paralympic shooter competing in the pistol events. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Early life

Ayşegül Pehlivanlar was born on December 5, 1979. She was paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury that she suffered as a result of a car accident, which took place while returning from a vacation together with her parents. Pehlivanlar's mother was killed in the accident, and she became forced to use a wheelchair from then on.

Sporting career

In 2013, Pehlivanlar's skills in a shooting range at İzmir drew the attention of a coach. This was the first time in her life she had visited a shooting range. She admitted that "with the help of shooting sport" she overcame her introversion she developed after the accident and goes outside more compared to before," adding that "she is today more self-confident." She says that "she learned one can do everything if believes it." Her father, a former sportsperson, is her biggest supporter in sports.
Pehlivanlar competes in the P2 women's 10m air pistol SH1 and P4 Mixed 50m air pistol SH1 events. SH1 is the Paralympic shooting classification for athletes, who do not require a shooting stand to support the firearm. Currently, she is a member of the shooting and hunting club "Atıcılık ve Avcılık SK" in Istanbul.
She participated at the Turkish Championships in Mersin for the first time in 2015, and captured the gold medal. She was then admitted to the national team in April 2015, and represented her country at international competitions like IPC Shooting World Cup 2015 in Osijek, Croatia, 2015 in Fort Benning United States and 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.
In 2015, Pehlivanlar took the gold medal with 188.9 points in the final in the Women's P2 10m air pistol SH1 event at the IPC Shooting World Cup held in Fort Benning, United States. This success brought her a quota place for the 2016 Summer Paralympics. It will be her first participation at the Paralympics. She was also part of the P4 50m Air Pistol Mixed SH1 team at the same competition.
She became the runner-up at the 2016 Turkish Championships held in Mersin. Pehlivanlar became bronze medalist in the 10m air pistol SH1 event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.