Öçal Görkem (born 4 September 2011 in Adana, Turkey) is a Turkish table tennis player and a member of the Turkish national team. He is a silver medallist at the ITTF World Youth Championships in U15 boys' doubles (2025). A three-time European U13 champion, he won two team titles (2023, 2024) and the mixed doubles title (2024). He is the European U15 boys' singles champion (2026) and a silver medallist at the European U21 Championships in men's doubles (2026). He is also a multiple medallist at the European Youth Championships in the U15 category, having won three silver medals (2025 — boys' singles and team events; 2026 — mixed doubles) and four bronze medals (2023 — boys' doubles; 2024 — boys' team event; 2025 and 2026 — boys' doubles). He won silver in U15 boys' singles at the Europe Youth Top 10 (2025) and bronze in boys' singles at the European Youth Olympic Festival (2025).
He is the Turkish national men's singles champion (2026). Öçal represents ÇİLTAR MTİ Spor Kulübü, based in Adana. He is a right-handed shakehand player.
Biography
Görkem Öçal grew up in a sporting family. His father, Gökmen Öçal, is a former Turkish national table tennis player who later became a coach. His mother, Belgin Öçal, previously played basketball and works as an English teacher. Görkem has a younger brother, Kerem.
Öçal spent his early childhood in Isparta, where his father conducted table tennis training sessions. At the age of four or five, Görkem regularly accompanied him to the sports hall, watched the training sessions and helped collect balls. According to his parents, he enjoyed the training environment so much that he was reluctant to leave the hall in the evenings.
At the age of six, Öçal began structured table tennis training under his father's guidance. At seven, he won his first Turkish national title in his age category. From that point onwards, training became a regular part of his daily routine. Initially, he trained for approximately two hours a day, increasing his training time to three or four hours daily from the age of ten.
The family later settled in Adana, where Görkem continued his development at ÇİLTAR. His father remained his personal coach while also working with Turkey's youth national team.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency in June 2024, Öçal explained that training with his father gave him greater confidence because his coach knew his strengths and weaknesses particularly well. Gökmen Öçal, meanwhile, said that during competitions he tried to separate his role as a father from his responsibilities as a coach.
Youth career
Öçal achieved his first major international successes in 2024. At the European U13 Championships in Romania, he won two gold medals, claiming the boys' singles and mixed doubles titles. These achievements established him as one of the most promising players of his generation in European table tennis.
In January 2025, Öçal climbed to sixth place in the ITTF U15 world rankings. According to the Turkish Table Tennis Federation, this was the highest ranking ever achieved by a Turkish player in that age category at the time.
In February 2025, at WTT Youth Contender Doha, Öçal partnered fellow Turkish player Kenan Kahraman to win the U15 boys' doubles title.
In July of the same year, he claimed three medals in the U15 category at the European Youth Championships in the Czech Republic: silver in boys' singles and the boys' team event, and bronze in boys' doubles. Later that month, Öçal also won the boys' singles bronze medal at the European Youth Olympic Festival in North Macedonia.
In September 2025, while discussing his preparations for the World Youth Championships in Romania, Öçal identified winning a gold medal as his main objective. In an interview with Anadolu Agency, he emphasised the importance of perseverance and continuous improvement, encouraging aspiring players not to abandon their goals after setbacks.
In 2025, Öçal continued his successful performances on the international stage. At the Europe Youth Top 10 tournament in Tours, France, he claimed the silver medal in the U15 boys' singles event. Later that year, at the ITTF World Youth Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Öçal won silver in the U15 boys' doubles event.
In 2026, Öçal achieved further success at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar, Portugal, winning three medals in the U15 category. He claimed the European title in boys' singles, secured silver in mixed doubles and earned bronze in boys' doubles. With three podium finishes at a single championship, Öçal reaffirmed his status as one of Europe's leading young table tennis players.
Senior career
In early 2026, Öçal recorded his first notable results at international senior-level tournaments.
At WTT Feeder Cappadocia in February, he defeated England's Samuel Walker and Belgium's Martin Allegro, the latter being ranked among the world's top 100 players.
Later that month, at just 14 years of age, Öçal became the Turkish national men's singles champion. In the final of the national championships, he defeated İbrahim Gündüz in straight games, 4–0.
Reflecting on his performances against more experienced opponents, Öçal highlighted the importance of effective serving and receive, which he considered key factors in his success.
In June 2026, Öçal competed at the European U21 Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Despite being only 14 years old, he reached the men's doubles final alongside Italy's Danilo Faso.
In the semi-finals, the Turkish-Italian pair defeated Connor Green (England) and Maël Van Dessel (Luxembourg) 3–0. In the final, Öçal and Faso lost 1–3 to the German pair of Andre Bertelsmeier and Wim Verdonschot, earning the silver medals.
Senior World Championships debut (2026)
In April 2026, at the age of 14, Görkem Öçal made his debut for the Turkish men's national team at the World Team Table Tennis Championships, held in London, United Kingdom, from 28 April to 10 May. The tournament marked his first appearance at a senior World Championships. In the first group stage, Turkey competed in Group 11 alongside Kazakhstan, Thailand and Egypt. In the opening tie against Kazakhstan, Öçal recorded his first victory at a senior World Championships, defeating Alan Kurmangaliyev 3–1. He subsequently lost to Kirill Gerassimenko, with Turkey losing the team tie 1–3. In their second group-stage tie, Turkey defeated Thailand 3–1. Öçal contributed to the victory by overcoming Phakpoom Sanguansin in five games, 3–2. In the final group-stage tie against Egypt, Öçal suffered two defeats, losing 0–3 to Youssef Abdel-Aziz and 1–3 to Omar Assar. Turkey lost the tie 2–3 and finished third in the group, bringing their World Championships campaign to an end. Overall, Öçal played six individual matches at his debut senior World Championships, recording two wins and four losses.
Senior European Individual Championships debut (2026)
In October 2026, 15-year-old Öçal made his first appearance at the senior European Individual Championships, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 11 to 18 October. In the men's singles qualification stage, he recorded two victories. In his opening match, Öçal came from two games down to defeat Iceland's Ingi Rodriguez 3–2. He then beat Portugal's Tiago Abiodun in straight games, 3–0. The victory over the reigning European U19 Youth Top 10 champion secured Öçal first place in his qualification group and a place in the men's singles main draw. In the Round of 64, Öçal faced Portugal's João Geraldo and lost in straight games, 0–4, ending his men's singles campaign. Overall, Öçal recorded two wins from three matches on his debut at the senior European Individual Championships, reaching the Round of 64.
2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games
In 2026, Görkem Öçal competed at the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. In the table tennis men's singles event, the Turkish player reached the quarter-finals, finishing among the tournament's top eight competitors. This performance marked another significant achievement in Öçal's international youth career.
Playing style and training
Öçal is a right-handed shakehand player. His main strengths include his speed, quick decision-making, technical versatility and strong forehand attacking game.
His father and coach, Gökmen Öçal, places considerable emphasis on both technical development and physical conditioning. As of early 2026, Öçal was training for several hours a day, including dedicated strength and fitness sessions.
According to the compass programme, Öçal's weekly training volume amounted to approximately 27 hours. He has named Chinese table tennis star Fan Zhendong as one of his role models.
Since 2023, Öçal's development has been supported by the international compass programme, through which he has attended training camps, including sessions in Ochsenhausen, Germany. Specialists involved in the programme also contribute to his development, focusing on refining his technique and improving his tactical decision-making and independence at the table.
Player Profiles
OCAL Gorkem - player profile in the ITTF international results database (https://www.ittf.com)
Gorkem OCAL - player profile on the official World Table Tennis (WTT) ranking website
Ocal, Gorkem - player profile on Ratings Central, an international table tennis rating and statistics website
Görkem Öçal - Olympic athlete profile on Olympedia
Görkem Öçal - player profile on Table Tennis Media
Gorkem OCAL - player profile on PingSunday (ranking and equipment)
OCAL Gorkem's Equipment | Racket & Rubbers - information about the player's table tennis equipment on tabletennis-reference.com
Gorkem Ocal - player profile on ttsensei.com
Görkem Öçal - player profile on the Turkish Table Tennis Federation (Türkiye Masa Tenisi Federasyonu) website
