Vargas one tougher than China…Thiem reaches semis after full-set thriller

Turkiye women’s volleyball team’s Apojeet Vargas turned back China’s Li Yingying and Zhu Ting.

It was a thriller that lasted more than two hours. After a back-and-forth battle, the Turks emerged victorious with a thrilling 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 21-25, 15-12) victory over China in the women’s volleyball quarter-final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Arena 1 in South Paris, France, on Saturday (6 June). Vargas exploded for 42 points on her own. China’s Li Yingying and Zhu Ting chipped in with 25 and 19 points respectively, 토토사이트 but were unable to stop Vargas.

China barely managed to take the first set thanks to the Li Yingying-Zhu Ting duo. But Vargas‘ firepower was already too much. At 21-24 down, she fought back to take the next two points.

Vargas then took matters into his own hands and took the next two to three sets in a row. In the third set, he scored 15 points on his own. However, Vargas went quiet for a while in the fourth set, perhaps overextended. The Chinese, on the other hand, gradually revitalised the Li Yingying-Zhou Ting partnership and levelled the match once again.

The long-awaited fifth set. Vargas started again. China briefly took the lead early on, but Vargas stormed the Chinese court and levelled the score. She scored eight points in the fifth set alone to seal the victory for Turkiye.

A bitter defeat for China. The Chinese are one of the most dominant teams in the world beyond Asia. They already have three Olympic gold medals. They lifted the trophy in Los Angeles in 1984, their first appearance, and then celebrated again in Athens in 2004. In 2016, they finished first in Rio, marking a generational change.

At the centre of that generational change was Zhu Ting, the ‘Kim Yon Kyung of China’. In 2016, at the age of 22, he led the team to their first Olympic gold medal in 12 years. She was also the tournament MVP and top scorer. With Zhu Ting at the helm, China went for a second consecutive title in Tokyo 2021, but a wrist injury saw them crash out in the group stage.

Desperate, China sharpened their knives for Paris. They decided to reduce their reliance on Zhu Ting and turn to Li Yingying as their next ace, and the duo clicked from the group stage. Li Yingying would be the main gun, but in clutch situations, the more experienced Zhu Ting would finish.

This helped China cruise through the group stage with three wins out of three. Against Turkiye, the chemistry between Li Yingying and Zhu Ting was evident as they combined to withstand the ‘world-class’ Vargas onslaught. They combined for 44 points and battled back against Turkiye. But in the end, they were unable to overcome Vargas‘ one-man show.

Turkiye will play the winner of the Italy-Serbia quarter-final on 7 July for a place in the final on 9 July.

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