Thaindian News

London, July 30 (IANS) China harvested a second win and made a firm step to the quarterfinals in women’s volleyball of the Olympic Games by outplaying Turkey 3-1 here Monday.

China, champion in 2004 Athens Games and bronze medallists in Beijing Games, won the match 25-20, 25-20, 29-31 and 25-22, with solid blocks and lethal spikes of key players Wang Yimei and Hui Ruoqi, reports Xinhua.

Hui scored a stunning 21 points for China, while the Iron Lady Neslihan Dainel contributed 16 points for Turkey.

“The victory is the result of great teamwork. My girls have played very offensive today but, meanwhile, with enough patience. They managed to stay calm even when Turkey won back a set,” said China’s head coach Yu Juemin.

China’s Wang Yimei attributed the loss of third set to the eager of winning, which distracted the team’s focus at the court.

“At the beginning we played very hard and after, we started to feel tired. But we managed to carry on. At the end of the third set, we did not control the match very well. We really wanted to win, but we didn’t keep the pace enough,” said Wang

“Turkey is a strong team. We lost 1-3 to them at the World Grand Prix in June, so we have made full preparation for a hard game with a lot of targeted training, and the girls followed our plans and gave out all what they have achieved in the training,” said Yu.

As China beat Serbia 3-1 in their opening match Saturday, the victory over Turkey gave the Chinese a much bigger chance for quarterfinals.

“Though it’s still too early to say we made it to quarterfinals, the win today will greatly enhance the girls’ confidence to fight for the rest games,” said Yu.

As the Chinese celebrated their two wins, Turkey had to fight even harder in the competitions for a quarterfinal seat. They already suffered a 2-3 loss to defending champion Brazil Saturday.

“China was more stable for the whole match than us, but we still have games to play,” said Turkey coach Marco Aurelio Motta.

China quickly pulled ahead in the first set, with almost all their points coming from Hui, who blocked and spiked with equal effectiveness. Turkey’s wing spiker Gozde Sonsirma and middle blocker Eda Erdem Dundar joined in Darnel pulled points back. But China dominated the net with impressive blocks and took the opener 25-20.

The second set started tighter, with Yang Junjing joining Hui in collecting points for China, while Darnel led with attacks from back court and powerful service to keep Turkey in contention.

But China got 15-10 ahead as they made fewer errors, and with opposite hitter Zhang Lei and always powerful Wang adding to their attacking options, the world No.3 China won the set 25-20.

The third set saw Turkey take a narrow lead during the early stages. China’s range of attacking options, co-ordinated brilliantly by captain and setter Wei Qiuyue, was boosted by the spiking and blocking of Ma Yunwen.

China edged back into the lead, but the spirited Turks stayed level and got to set point 24-23. China pegged them till 29-all, when Sonsirma and Dundar’s two spikes helped Turkey pull back one set 31-29.

China showed their class at the start of the fourth set, going into the lead thanks to Hui and Ma. Turkey continued to battle hard but the all round ability of China was too strong and they took the set 25-22.

The Chinese will face the World No.1 the United States Wednesday, while Turkey, who have lost two straight, will hope to improve against Serbia.

Besides Serbia, China play in the same pool in London along with defending champion Brazil, US, Turkey and South Korea.

Italy, Russia, Japan, Algeria, the Dominican Republic and host Britain make up the other six-team pool.

Top four teams emerge out of each pool and will play the quarterfinals.