When I take the bat into my hand I forget everything
Fulya Ozler has an interesting career. Her parents are from Turkey and moved to Germany. The Butterfly player was born in Germany and was a member of the German junior squad. When she didn’t see any perspective in Germany she took Turkish citizenship when she was 20 years old and played for the Turkish national team since then. A team, which the aggressive offensive player really enjoys playing for. At the beginning this change took a while to get used to.
Fulya, how did you get to play table tennis and how did your interesting story start?
When I was eight years old I had a friend at school, who played already and persuaded me to take part in a school tournament. That was so much fun that I joined her in a club. I really enjoyed playing and I progressed accordingly and played a ranking tournament in Baden Wurttemberg, where my career started. I got third place but had equal matches and sets with the first and second place and lost on points. As number three I didn’t qualify for the next round. My coach argued vehemently with the organizers so that I was qualified for the next stage. I am still grateful to him for that.
That was close, but how did it go on?
I was allowed to play the regional ranking tournament. I was really lucky because the regional coach Martin Ostermann discovered me. At the time I was nine or ten years old. I was allowed to take part in the training of the centre of excellence and progressed accordingly.
When did you have your first great success?
I came third in the cadet singles at the European Junior Championships in 2002. That was a key success, which showed me the way to table tennis in the future. In 2005 I played the last time for Germany at the European- and World Junior Championships.
Why so early?
I had some problems and wasn’t selected for the elder juniors from the DTTB. That was not good enough for me because I wanted to play internationally.
So you had the idea to play for Turkey?
I received already an offer when I was a junior but I did not take that seriously. I was very happy with the German system and enjoyed playing there. When I suddenly wasn’t part of it any more I started thinking about it. They made me a second offer which I accepted so that I am playing for Turkey now.
You still live and play in Germany.
Yes, of course, at first in the second Bundesliga and then in the first. Apart from that I took my A-Levels and took some further education. That was very important to me.
Was the decision to play for Turkey just because of sporting reasons?
Absolutely. I didn’t see any chances to make it into the national team in Germany.
How were you welcomed in the Turkish national team?
My coach Martin Ostermann told me at the time that the differences would be enormous concerning discipline and organization and he was right. There were so many differences, which I had to deal with. Naturally they also want success in Turkey, ideally medals. How you are practicing and what you do doesn’t matter, the main thing is a medal.
I was used to the German style and it was very difficult at the beginning.
Do you have a coach like the Turkish men’s team?
No, sadly not. We have got someone who looks after us but he is not there for all the tournaments.
This is not very professional but you have two Chinese players on your team.
Yes, Hu Melek and He Sirin have been in Turkey for three years. I like them both and they learn English and Turkish and I can even talk in Turkish to one of them.
How did you prepare for the team WC in Moscow?
Very well, the Turkish association has organized a training camp in Antalya together with Romania and Serbia. Something is happening in that direction. There is supposed to be a training camp in Germany next year.
By the way movement, is it true that table tennis is on the way up in Turkey?
In Turkey there are now 54.000 licensed players. Many years ago there were 2.500. There is some potential here.
Let’s talk about your future in sports. At the moment you are number 278 on the world ranking list. What is your target?
In the long run my target is to get into the top 100. In the near future I wish I could take part in the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games, but I can only take part if one of the Chinese is directly qualified for Olympia.
How do you have to improve your game so that you can reach your target?
My game opening must become more consistent, especially the service-return game. My backhand game can also be improved.
At the end the obligatory question: What do you really like about table tennis?
When I take the bat into my hand, I simply forget everything. You are simply infected. Your head, your body, everything melts together.
What don’t you like in table tennis?
A defeat. You are really down. And because in table tennis there are so many things happening in your head, your head is really empty.