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.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS