Taiwan's giant-killing run ended yesterday when they crashed in a four-set defeat to European silver medalists Turkey in the women's world volleyball championships.
The Taiwanese women, who shocked Asian rivals Japan, South Korea and European champions Poland in the first stage, suffered their first loss 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 25-17 in the eight-team Pool E tournament in Nagoya.
"The Turkish team played a wonderful match. We couldn't show our best against them today. Tactically we made too many mistakes. That's why we lost," Taiwan captain Chen Shu-li (
PHOTO: AFP
"Our spikes didn't work and the blocks weren't good enough. It made it tough for the defensive players at the back," she said.
Taiwan coach Lin Kuang-hung (
"Turkey played a wonderful match," Lin said.
PHOTO: AFP
"We made every effort to win, but we have to think about the reasons why we lost. Turkey's team was tall, but in Pool A we defeated Poland, who are also tall," he said.
Neslihan said: "This match was very important, because it was the first match of the second round. We wanted to win it very much, and we had no doubt that we would. But Taiwan were very good and we are happy that we won."
Turkish coach Resat Yaziciogullari said: "We have had a good start to the second round. With this win, other teams in this pool now have a chance."
Serbia and Montenegro, Russia and Brazil, who carried over three wins from the first stage, all remained unbeaten scoring their sixth straight wins for 4-0 records in the second stage.
The Serbians fought off South Korea 25-23, 25-19, 25-22, while Brazil outgunned Azerbaijan 25-19, 25-21, 25-23 in Pool E.
"I'm not pleased with the way my team played for most of the match, but I'm pleased with the result. Maybe we were still half asleep. But definitely I'm not happy about the way my players played in defence," Serbian coach Zoran Terzic said.
The two-time Olympic silver medalists Russia whipped Puerto Rico 25-16, 25-10, 25-20 in Pool F in Osaka yesterday.
"We still have problems with our setter," Russian coach Giovanni Caprara said. "We have an inexperienced setter, Marina Akulova, who is quick, and the other setter, Marina Sheshenina, is experienced but slower."
"But we have strong attacks to counter this problem. I hope we can continue to play this way. All our opponents are strong and we have to take it day by day. We cannot afford to lose any matches, because it may affect our semi-final chances," he added.
In other matches, defending champions Italy powered past Poland 25-19, 25-22, 25-13 in Nagoya, while the Netherlands squeezed through to a 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 16-14 win over Germany in Osaka.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
RSS