China unbeaten, Turkey claim opening victory at volleyball World Cup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 04, 2003

China unbeaten, Turkey claim opening victory at volleyball World Cup

World Grand Prix champions China eased past Dominican Republic 3-0 on Monday in Kagoshima to remain unbeaten at the 2003 women's volleyball World Cup.

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China unbeaten, Turkey claim opening victory at volleyball World Cup

World Grand Prix champions China eased past Dominican Republic 3-0 on Monday in Kagoshima to remain unbeaten at the 2003 women's volleyball World Cup.

European runners-up Turkey rallied from two sets down to beat defending champions Cuba 3-2 for their opening victory at the tournament, which runs through November 15.

In Tokyo, Japan beat South Korea in the other five-set thriller on Monday while the United States hammered Italy 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 for their third straight win.

China, winners at the Swiss International Tournament and the World Grand Prix this year, were too much for the Dominicans. The one-sided matched ended 25-12, 25-12 and 25-15 in just 58 minutes.

The Chinese, who are bidding to win their first World Cup title in 18 years, are much taller, more experienced and have more attacking tactics.

"The victory is within my expectation, but we still have a longway to go at the tournament," said Chinese head coach Chen Zhonghe after their third victory in three days. "We should do our best in every single match."

Zhao Ruirui, the 1.96-meter spiker, built a Great Wall with her teammates on the net. She had five blocks and eight kills to finish with a game-high 14 points.

Dominican Republic's head coach Jorge Garbey admitted Zhao made a lot of trouble for his side.

"Obviously she has an advantage because of her height, and she moves very well in the court," he said. "She is great both defensively and offensively, she is very difficult to play with."

Yang Hao added nine kills and Chinese captain Feng Kun contributed three blocks.

Turkey lost to Poland in five sets in their opening match on Friday, but today they had better luck.

Fighting to a 2-2 tie in the first fourth sets, Turkey and Cuba exchanged runs to draw at 14-14. At the crucial point, Hanikoglu Natalia emerged as Turkey's hero when she made two consecutive kills to conclude the marathon match in one hour and 42 minutes.

Natalia finished with 20 points and Demir Neslihan added 21 for the Turkish side.

"I am proud of my team," said Turkey's head coach Resat Yaziciogullari.

"We made many mistakes in the first two sets. After we lost two sets, we fought back together till the end."

With the tournament having a rest day on Tuesday, Turkey will play China on Wednesday. Yaziciogullari held a philosophical attitude toward the upcoming match.

"If we win, we will be happy. If we lose, we will not be unhappy," he said. "If we play good defense and serve strongly, it will be a close match."

Also on Monday, Argentina outclassed Egypt 3-0 and Brazil beat European champions Poland in straight sets.

Twelve teams are competing at the round-robin tournament with top three finishers to qualify for the Athens Olympics in 2004.

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