Gülden Kayalar Kuzubaşıoğlu (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Kayalar, born 5 December 1980 in Samsun,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

) is a Turkish

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player. She is tall and plays as libero. She plays for

Eczacıbaşı Zentiva Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. The group with 44 companies has 11,400 employees and a combined net turnover of TL 11.1 billion in 2020. Group Eczacıbaşı's core sectors are building products, ...

since 2003 and wears the number 2. She also played for Ankara Numunespor, Şanlıurfa Gençlikspor.

Career

"''I started playing volleyball in elementary school in Samsun at the age of eight''", is how she describes the start of her career. Her first club team was Ladikspor. After Ladikspor she transferred to Samsun Atakum and DSI Spor before playing for the first division team Şanlıurfa Gençlikspor (2002–03). Then she signed a contract with Ankara Numunespor. At the beginning of the preparation phase for the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

, Gülden was chosen (out of a selection of many experienced libero players) as a candidate for the libero position in the national team. To her surprise, and to the amazement of many

authorities, the national team coaches chose her to represent the Turkish colours in the European Championships 2002-03. Gülden tried her utmost to deserve this honor. "''Being a part of the National Team means everything to me. I was very excited as I was just at the beginning of my career and was so afraid of not being successful. My team mates were very understanding and supportive. At the first national camp there were already two liberos and I did not expect to be chosen for the team. However, when they finally announced my selection, I was extremely excited' she said. During her first international appearance at the 23rd European Championships she demonstrated her defensive strengths with some great actions, thus becoming a very effective weapon and the mascot of the national team of

. At the end of the EC she was declared the best digger of the tournament. Although having lost the final to Poland, it has nevertheless been Turkey’s biggest success in the history of the European Championships.

Clubs

Eczacıbaşı VitrA Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. The group with 44 companies has 11,400 employees and a combined net turnover of TL 11.1 billion in 2020. Group Eczacıbaşı's core sectors are building products, ...

(2003–2011)

Awards

Individuals

* '' 2003 European Championship "Best Digger"'' * '' 2005 European Championship "Best Receiver"'' * '' 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Receiver"'' * ''2012-13 Turkish League Final Series "Best Libero"''

Clubs

* 2010-11 Turkish Cup - Roundel of Turkey

Champion, with Eczacıbaşı VitrA * 2011 Turkish Volleyball Super Cup - Simple cup icon

Champion, with

* 2011-12 Turkish Cup - Roundel of Turkey

Champion, with Eczacıbaşı VitrA * 2011-12 Aroma Women's Volleyball League - Gorm silver cup

Runner-Up, with

* 2012 Turkish Volleyball Super Cup - Simple cup icon

Champion, with

2012-2013 Turkish Women's Volleyball Cup 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Runner-Up, with

* 2012-2013 Turkish Women's Volleyball League - Gorm silver cup

Runner-Up, with

* 2016 FIVB Club World Championship - Simple cup icon

Champion, with

National team

* 2003 European Championship - Silver Medal * 2009 European League - Silver Medal *

2012 FIVB World Grand Prix The 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix was a women's volleyball tournament played by 16 countries starting 8 June 2012. The finals were held at the Beilun Sports and Arts Centre in Ningbo, China.CSVFIVB announces pools for 2012 World Grand Prix(In Spanis ...

- Bronze Medal

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayalar, Gulden 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Samsun Turkish women's volleyball players Eczacıbaşı Dynavit players Olympic volleyball players for Turkey Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games medalists in volleyball Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games