The 33-year-old player of the crescent-star team, which will compete in the FIBA 2026 Women's Basketball World Cup to be held in Berlin, the capital of Germany, between 4-13 September, answered the questions of the AA reporter about the preparation process, her return to the organization after 8 years, her captaincy responsibility, her opponents in the group stage and her goals in the tournament.
Stating that the preparation process is progressing as planned, Olcay Çakır Turgut said, "Everyone is aware of our goals and what awaits us. We are all focused on this and working well. We played a tournament with our coach in March and it went well for us. However, there are still many points we need to work on and improve." he said.
"I am aware of the responsibilities I have"
Reminding that he was in the national team squad at the Olympic Games (2016) and the World Championship (2018), Olcay Çakır Turgut emphasized that representing Türkiye on the world stage as captain this time carries an important responsibility for him.
Stating that he played in these tournaments as a young player, Olcay said, "I was in the squad for the World Championship and Olympic Games. I was here as a young athlete at that time, but I am aware of the responsibilities I have today. It is a great pride for us to represent Türkiye on the world stage again." he said.
Noting that he wanted to help the young players in the team with his experience, Olcay Çakır Turgut shared the following opinions:
"As the captain, I am here to be a big sister to my teammates, to share my experiences with them and to help them as much as I can. Apart from that, representing Türkiye is very valuable in itself. We have really valuable athletes. We are in a very good organization. I would like to especially thank our Federation. They are making a great effort to develop women's basketball and basketball in general in Türkiye. It is very valuable and proud for us to represent Türkiye on the world stage again."
"We can truly become a team when we play together."
Olcay Çakır Turgut stated that they want to carry the competitive basketball they showed in the qualifiers in March to the World Cup.
Underlining the importance of the character of the national team on the field, the experienced basketball player said, "We will do our best to show Türkiye again, which you watched in the qualifiers in March. We can really be a team when we play together. Our spirit is to act together and fight together. I think we showed this in March. We will go to the World Cup and fight." made his assessment.
"We need to win the Puerto Rico match 100 percent"
Stating that they are aware of the strengths of their rivals in Group C, Belgium, Australia and Puerto Rico, Olcay said:
"I think there is no need to talk about Belgium's successes and championships in Europe. It will be a very difficult first match, but we will do our best. Australia is a very strong team that has won medals in the Olympic Games and the World Championship. It was valuable for us that we lost the match against such an opponent in the last ball of the qualifiers. Of course, the match in the World Cup will be different. After all, this is a single match and we will still put everything we can into the field. We need at least one win to get out of the group. That's why Puerto Rico "We see this match as a match we have to win 100 percent. However, this does not mean that we will give up the fight against Belgium and Australia. We will do everything we can in those matches."
"This team has the potential to do anything"
Pointing out that the National Women's Basketball Team has gone through a significant change in the last 8 years, Olcay Çakır Turgut said that the current squad is capable of achieving significant success.
Emphasizing that they aim to get out of the group first in the 2026 World Cup, the national basketball player said, "I see my team, my teammates, our technical team and everyone here as having the capacity to achieve a lot. I don't want to talk big because we want to progress step by step. Our primary goal is to get out of the group and to achieve this in the best way possible because our ranking in the group will also be important for the opponent we will face in the cross-match." he said.
Referring to the change that the crescent-star team has undergone, Olcay continued his words as follows:
"Of course, I want to see this team at the highest level. Can we do this? Of course we can. However, we also have young friends in our squad and we have gone through a significant change process in the last 8 years. In fact, this change started before the last World Championship, but afterwards there was a much bigger transformation. I believe that this team has the potential to do everything. But as I said, we want to progress step by step. Our first goal is to get out of the group and then continue on our way."
"We want to achieve our big dreams by moving forward step by step"
Stating that they should learn from their experiences in past tournaments, Olcay Çakır Turgut noted that a single match could change the course of the tournament.
Emphasizing that there is no guarantee of any result in such organizations, the captain of the star and crescent team said, "Everything is played over a single match. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for us. Anything can happen in a single match. We may experience an unexpected result, and so can our opponent. Therefore, nothing is guaranteed." he said.
Underlining the disappointments they experienced in the European championships, Olcay said, "I do not want to talk big. Of course, our dreams are very big and we are dreaming of our own. However, rather than talking about them, we want to move forward step by step. We have been disappointed many times in the European championships; last year's European Championship was one of them. That is why we need to move forward with firm steps. We do not want to get big dreams immediately after winning a match and lose the next match. We want to achieve our big dreams by considering each match one by one and moving forward step by step." he said.
Call for support to Turkish fans in Berlin
Olcay Çakır Turgut stated that they want to feel the support of Turkish fans at the 2026 World Cup to be held in Berlin.
Stating that the national team is fighting hard to be on the world stage again, Olcay said, "It is really valuable for us that the fans do not abandon us there. We are struggling and working hard to be here and represent Türkiye on the world stage again. I hope they will not leave us alone in the World Cup and make us feel their support. I would like to thank both those who will follow us on television and everyone who will be with us there." He concluded his words by saying.
