China loses to Turkey to wrap up VNL Xi'an leg

XI'AN, China, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Host China lost to Turkey 3-0 at the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League Xi'an leg on Sunday, wrapping up the opening leg with two wins and two defeats.

After conceding its opener to Japan, China bounced back with back-to-back victories over Serbia and the Netherlands. Turkey, meanwhile, had suffered three consecutive losses before the encounter with China.

Turkey came out strong in the first set, taking advantage of powerful attacking to win 25-22. China raced to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but Turkey's superior blocking shut down China's attack to win the second set 25-21.

China once again started fast in the third set, surging into a 5-2 lead, but Turkey countered with a four-point run to flip the score. In the final stages, Turkey pulled away with a decisive 6-2 run to close out the match 25-20, registering its first win of the season.

China captain Jiang Chuan admitted frustration after the defeat, pointing to execution and endurance issues as key factors. "After the first three matches, we were quite fatigued physically in the fourth match, but that's not an excuse. We need to learn how to handle such situations," he said.

Despite the loss, China head coach Vital Heynen expressed satisfaction with his team's performance, especially with key players like Zhang Jingyin and Wang Jingyi sidelined with injury. "We have to be realistic that we came here without two core players. We made one good step already, winning two matches in the tournament," he said.

According to the schedule, China will next compete in the Chicago leg in late June, followed by the Gdansk leg in mid-July.

Heynen emphasized that his team will not fear strong opponents, whether at home or abroad. "This year in VNL, a lot of teams are at the same level, so there will be a chance in other matches also. It will be about us. When we get better, we will get more matches," he added.

In other matches on Sunday, Poland beat Serbia 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) to stay undefeated, while Japan swept the Netherlands 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-18). ■