Turkey's pistol shooter Yusuf Dikec, who went viral on social media for his 'casual approach' in clinching a silver medal at the Paris Games, has become a sensation on the internet. Dikec, who came second in the Mixed 50m Pistol event at the ongoing Olympic Games, shot to fame with his hand in pocket posture, and no-gear participation in the event. Looking to make the most of his virality and social media attention, Dikec wrote to American billionaire Elon Musk, asking if robot shooters in the future could shoot in Olympics with a hand in their pocket. He even invited the billionaire to Turkey for a chat. Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), responded.
"Hi Elon, do you think future robots can win medals at the Olympics with their hands in their pockets How about discussing this in Istanbul, the cultural capital that unites continents?," Dikec asked.
"Robots will hit the center of the bullseye every time," Musk said in response. "I do look forward to visiting Istanbul. It is one of the great cities of the world," he further said.
After clinching silver medal in Olympics, Dikec expressed his delight on his performance, and said that his victory in the Paris Games will inspire the next generations.
The star shooter said an athlete needs to pay attention to his attitude, behaviour and lifestyle when he is wearing the national team's jersey. "Yusuf Dikec is just a name and a symbol. I am very happy to be spoken about as a Turkish athlete, not as Yusuf Dikec."
He said this victory must inspire young Turkish shooters. "I started the sport very late, I started when I was 28. At first, when we went to competitions in Europe and the world, we considered making it to the finals as a success. Today, after 24 years, we have started to feel sad about finishing second in the Olympics. We have many young friends, they will surpass us. I am old, but we have shown that success can be achieved by hard work. What is important is not wanting something very much, but the effort you put in to achieve what you want," he said.