Greek masterclass sees off Hungary 12-9 to clinch women's water polo title at World Aquatics C'ships
The win gave the Greeks their second world championship title, having won it for the first time in China in 2011.
The two sides had met in the Women's Water Polo World Cup final in April, where Greece were also victorious in China, winning 13-9.
The teams also faced each other in the group stage here in Singapore and Hungary had edged out their rivals 10-9 on July 11.
In the final on July 23, Greece opened the scoring through tournament top scorer Foteini Tricha (25 goals including a hat-trick in the final) and despite Natasa Rybanska's equaliser, goals from Eleni Xenaki and captain Eleftheria Plevritou helped the Greek to finish the first quarter 3-1 up.
It was all Greece in the second period as Xenaki completed her hat-trick, with the Hungarians struggling to find the net after several saves from Greek custodian Ioanna Stamatopoulou, as the teams headed into the half at 8-4.
Despite a late Hungarian comeback in the third (2-2) and fourth (3-2) periods, Greece managed to see out the match 12-9.
In the earlier bronze-medal match, world No. 1 Spain survived a late scare to pip third-ranked United States 13-12.
Inspired by Emma Lineback, who scored a game-high five goals, eight-time world champions US clawed back a 7-4 first-half deficit but ran out of time against the Olympic champions.
Spain's captain Anni Espar said that her team were nervous throughout their bronze-medal match against the United States.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Said Spain captain Anni Espar: 'I think (we were) nervous the whole game, America played a great game, but we were able to perform really well and we're able to control the game even when things weren't working as well as the beginning.
'I think maybe at the end we needed to be a little bit more on top of the left-hander (Lineback) that was scoring a lot of goals, so I think that's something we can improve for next time.'
When asked about the disappointment of finishing fourth, both in Singapore and at the Paris Olympics in 2024 – the Americans had won the 2024 world championships in Doha – US coach Adam Krikorian said: 'We did a great job here, to be honest.
'What we were able to accomplish over a long period of time... it was a lot of hard work and lessons learnt, and that processes are going to be really important for this young group.
'We have so many young players that are experiencing this for the first time, and have a long way to grow.
'Clearly, we're not at the level of the best teams in the world right now, but at least we know much better now, after this summer, kind of where we stand and what we need to work on.'
Meanwhile, in the seventh-place play-off, Italy beat Japan 20-15, while world No. 2 Netherlands defeated Olympic silver medallists Australia 13-11 to finish fifth.
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Straits Times
42 minutes ago
- Straits Times
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
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4 hours ago
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