Neslihan Demir


Neslihan Demir is a former Turkish volleyball star. She is one of the most successful athletes of Turkey and has been among FIVB Heroes. She represented her country as the flag-bearer at the 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations and the official advertisement face of Turkey for the 2020 Summer Olympics candidateship along with basketballer Hedo Türkoğlu. Her position is opposite-hitter and she has won a lot of personal awards in international tournaments. She studied at Gazi University.

Career

She played for the Yeşilyurt, VakıfBank Türk Telekom and Spar Tenerife Marichal.
She played over 100 times for the national team.
At age 19, Demir was the leading player in the Turkish team that won the silver medal at the EC 2003 in Turkey making her a star in her home country and in the volleyball scene.
In 2007/08 Demir took a break from volleyball to become a mother.
Playing with VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta Türk Telekom at the CEV Indesit Champions League, she won the "Best Scorer" award.
She was named Sportsperson of Year in 2003 & 2004 by Newspaper Sabah and in 2006 by Newspaper Milliyet. She was awarded Best Scorer at the 2006 World Championship and 2010 World Championship
Demir was selected as FIVB Hero by FIVB in May 2012. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she was selected to be the at the flagbearer of her home country.
Demir won the Best Spiker individual award during the 2013–14 CEV Champions League Final Four held in Baku, Azerbaijan. There her team lost the semifinal to VakıfBank İstanbul and the Bronze Medal match to Rabita Baku.

Personal life

Neslihan Demir married Orkun Darnel, captain of the Galatasaray Swimming team, on July 16, 2006. The couple have a daughter named Zeynep Penelope. Orkun Darnel became manager of Galatasaray Daikin women's volleyball team after playing water polo at the same club for twenty years. The couple announced their divorce in March 2013.

Clubs

Individuals