Mehmet Üstündağ praises European champion Turkish women’s volleyball team

Mehmet Akif Üstündağ said his “blood pressure went up and down” during Turkey’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Italy in the final of the 2026 CEV European Championship.

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My blood pressure went up and down.

The result gave Turkey’s women’s national volleyball team its second straight European title. Üstündağ said the victory marked an achievement that had not been matched elsewhere, recalling Turkey’s 2023 titles in both the Volleyball Nations League and the European Championship.

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The most important thing was the supporters.

“The most important thing was the supporters,” he said, thanking everyone involved and the minister who, he added, had never left the team alone.

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There is nothing more beautiful than having Turkey's national anthem played here and raising the Turkish flag to the skies.

Üstündağ also highlighted the symbolism of hearing Turkey’s national anthem and seeing the Turkish flag raised. Looking ahead to the 2028 Olympics, he said the team had one major achievement left to deliver: an Olympic medal. “We have yet to give the Turkish nation an Olympic medal, and God willing, we will experience that together,” he said.

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We have yet to give the Turkish nation an Olympic medal, and God willing, we will experience that together.