Sapporo, Japan, September 30, 2018 – Captain Zhu Ting claimed she was off form but still led China to a hard-fought 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-23) victory over Turkey on the second day of the FIVB Women’s World Championship at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center on Sunday.
China captain Zhu Ting: My own condition wasn’t so great but my team were on form and we were able to have a great game with Turkey. I’m happy we’ve been able to win two game and we need to continue trying from here on in and continue winning.
China Zhang Changning: Today’s game was a very important match for us and because of that we made sure we prepared well for it, and we’re really glad we were able to win it.
China coach Lang Ping: It was a really tough game today. Turkey have made a lot of positive changes under coach Giovanni [Guidetti]. We knew Turkey were very strong so we made sure we really focused today. We have many games left and we have to take them one by one.
Turkey coach Giovanni Guidetti: Absolutely congratulations to China. Their volleyball was at a very high level tonight. They made very, very few mistakes in attack and service, so they put us in trouble and we couldn’t score through our middle blocker as we usually do. But I’m happy with the spirit of the team. We never stopped fighting against the Olympic champions with largely their top lineup.
(Re. No. 15 Karakurt): She’s a player that has shown many times she can do this; she can change a match. She’s very passionate and has a lot of energy and power. Every time when she enters a game, she can change something in the team. Sometimes she makes many mistakes but she’s still very young, barely 19 but step by step I believe she will help the team more.
Turkey captain Eda Erdem Dundar: It was a tough game for us because China played very well and they are a very good team. We tried to do everything but we had ups and downs in the game. But the last two sets were very close. We could have won those sets. The World Championship is very long so we have to look toward the next match.
Turkey No. 15 Ebrar Karakurt: We couldn’t play as we wanted. In the second and third sets we tried to come back, but there’s a long way to go in the tournament, so we have to try and win and do our best in the rest of the games.
(Re. playing with and against club teammate Zhu Ting): She’s a great player and one of the best in the world, so it’s great to play in the same club as her. When I entered the court I tried to do my best and support my team. The coach told me to play without fear.