The Turkish women's national volleyball team will be in action again on Thursday as they play the Dominican Republic in their second match of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The action kicks off at 10 p.m. Turkish time at the South Paris Arena.
After a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over the Netherlands in their opener, the "Sultans of the Net" as they are affectionately known are primed for a strong performance.
Known for choosing their moments to shine, they will be banking hitting the ground running and killing off the match ahead of time.
A win against the Dominican Republic would position them favorably for the quarterfinals.
Following this match, the Turkish Pride will have a date with Italy on Sunday.
The Sultans of the Net have received a major boost ahead of the match as Zehra Güneş, who recently recovered from an injury, is back in the lineup, bolstering the team’s chances.
The roster, under Italian head coach Daniele Santarelli, includes Gizem Örge, Cansu Özbay, the ever-shining Melissa Vargas, Hande Baladın, Meliha Diken, Derya Cebecioğlu, Elif Şahin, Eda Erdem Dündar, Aslı Kalaç, Zehra Güneş, Ilkin Aydın and Ebrar Karakurt.
With Güneş returning from reserve status to the main squad, Beyza Arıcı will move to the +1 player spot.
In a twist, there is some bad news in the Dominican Republic camp.
Middle blocker Lisvel Eve has recently been disqualified from the Olympics after testing positive for doping.
Geraldine Gonzalez, who was on the reserve list, has been called up to replace Eve.
Eve is likely to face a 4-year suspension from volleyball due to the doping violation.
"This is an incredibly disappointing situation. I am deeply upset and regretful. The drug I used to manage fluid retention (furosemide) was detected in my doping test at the last VNL. I did not realize its implications earlier," Eve stated.
She was found guilty of doping just before the Olympics and has been banned from the tournament.
Archery, boxing updates
In archery, the Turkish superstar Mete Gazoz advanced to the last 16 after defeating Chilean Andres Gallardo Ferrada 6-0 and Taiwanese Chih-Chun Tang 6-2.
Gazoz will face Frenchman Thomas Chirault on Aug. 4.
On the boxing front, Samet Gümüş was eliminated from the Paris 2024 Games after a 5-0 defeat to Kazakh Saken Bibossinov.
Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak and other officials attended the match, offering support to Gümüş post-fight.
Sailing, medal standings
In sailing, Merve Vatan is currently 19th among 24 competitors in the IQ Foil category.
Vatan had a mixed performance, finishing the third race in fifth place and the fourth in third, but struggled in subsequent races.
Technical issues prevented her from starting the seventh race.
Türkiye's medal count saw a boost with a bronze in archery and a silver in shooting, elevating them to 24th place overall, tied with Kosovo, Mexico and Poland.