Tonight, Russia, Olympic bronze medalists in 2008 and 2004, meet Turkey, who has been one of the tournament's biggest surprises in making their Olympic debut. The two have a history however as Russia defeated Turkey in the final to win last year's European championship.
Turkey's coach Ceyhun Yıldızoğlu expressed his pride in the team by stating, "In five years time we have come this far. We are about to play in the quarterfinals. The generations after us should do even better than we are now."
Mentioning their familiarity with Russia's women's basketball team, Yıldızoğlu states, "We have lost two games against them, however this game's atmosphere will be different. Our athletes put on a good fight. They reflect all of their strength on the court. Our objective is to make it to the semi-finals."
The game tips off at 20:00.
TURKEY BRINGS HOME A BRONZE
Turkey's Riza Kayaalp won the Olympic bronze medal in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 120kg on
Monday. To win Turkey's first medal in the 2012 London Olympics, Riza Kayaalp beat Guram Pherselidze (Georgia) by 3-0. Kayaalp was the 2011 World Championship winner beating out Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez, who went on to win the gold.
Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez powered to his second successive Olympic gold medal in the
heaviest Greco-Roman weight class on Monday. The gold was even sweeter because he beat Turkey's Riza Kayaalp in the semi-finals. The Turkish wrestler defeated Lopez in a shock victory in the world championship final last year.
