When blood is thicker than water for these water polo siblings at World Aquatics C'ships

Straits Times

13 hours ago

Vasiliki Plevritou (10) and her sister Eleftheria (2) in Greece's 25-15 win over Japan in their final Group C game at the World Aquatic Championships on July 15.
SINGAPORE – The fluid passing and instinctive shooting in the pool may have come after hours of training but, for some of the world-class water polo players at the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships (WCH), such telepathy comes naturally because they are siblings.
Greece's Vasiliki Plevritou told The Straits Times the special understanding she has with her 28-year-old sister Eleftheria definitely came into play when they helped their country win the Women's Water Polo World Cup in April. They also had an 'amazing' experience playing at the Paris Olympics with 30-year-old sister Margarita, who has since retired.
Vasiliki, 27, said: 'With one look, you just know what your sibling will do without them telling you, and the moves are automatic.'
Chase Dodd, part of the United States' Olympics bronze-winning men's team with his 19-year-old brother Ryde, felt that their partnership makes things better.
The 22-year-old said: 'We work really well together. We are like peanut butter and jelly: One without the other is good, but it's still not the same as when we are both put together.'
Interestingly, there are more than 10 sets of siblings competing across the men's and women's competitions at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
These include sisters Ariadna and Elena Ruiz representing women's Olympic champions Spain and Singapore's SEA Games silver medallist sisters Koh Xiao Li and Koh Ting Ting.
There are also brother-and-sister acts with Americans Dylan and Ella Woodhead, as well as Yusuke and Akari Inaba, the Japanese captains.
In the Serbian men's Olympics-winning team alone, there are two sets of brothers – Strahinja and Viktor Rasovic, and Petar and Nikola Jaksic.
Having someone from the same family on the same journey can help lift the team to greater heights.
Strahinja, 33, told World Aquatics: 'Paris has a special place in my heart. We won after very bad start in the group when nobody believed we can win a gold medal. But we did, and I did it with my brother, which for me means a lot.'
Likewise, Bente Rogge of the Netherlands recalled how they beat Spain in a nail-biting shoot-out in the 2023 WCH final, with her younger sister Lieke among the penalty takers.
Sisters Bente and Lieke Rogge in the Netherland's Group B 13-7 win over China at the World Aquatic Championships at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on July 15.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
The 27-year-old said: 'Lieke always takes the penalties at our club, ZV De Zaan. If she takes one, I always swim back because it's a sure thing the ball will go in. But in the final, it was different... with all that pressure on her shoulders.
'I was on the bench with the other girls. After that, we quickly sought each other out, and I said in tears, 'I'm very proud of you'.'
Still, having family by your side may not ensure everything will be smooth-sailing in the pool.
Eleftheria admitted: 'My teammates say that I have this poker face because I never show my emotion during the game. But when it comes to playing with my sisters, the opposite happens. I shout and get angry more easily.'
There was also the 'awkward' situation when Eleftheria's Hungarian club Ferencvarosi lost to Margarita and Vasiliki's Greek side Olympiacos in the Champions League third-place play-off in May.
Eleftheria said: 'It was very hard psychologically because I was playing against my sisters for the first time in 20 years.
'I play on the right, Vasiliki plays on the left, so we were together for the whole game. We didn't hit each other but it was still physical. It was difficult, well maybe not for her because she scored seven goals.'
With a sheepish smile, Vasiliki added that they try not to talk about water polo all day as it is already consuming a lot of their daily lives.
But sometimes, it does help to have someone at home who knows exactly what you are going through.
In 2019, the weight of expectations led Lieke to quit the national team. Then, Bente was dropped from the Tokyo 2020 squad. But having a family support system in the sport helped them overcome the setbacks and disappointment to become world champions together.
Lieke, 24, said: 'There's no one who knows me, what I'm going through, and what I need better than my sister. Sometimes, all I need is just a hug from her.'
Bente added: 'In good times, it's easy to be with everyone, but in hard times, it's really nice to be with family and have a person there who knows what to say at what time.'
After the group stage was completed on July 15, Australia, the United States, Hungary and Spain were the first teams to qualify for the quarter-finals with three straight wins in their respective groups.
Those who finished second and third in their groups advanced to the July 17 play-offs. where Greece-France, Japan-Britain, x-China, and x-Netherlands will fight for the four remaining quarter-final spots.
Meanwhile, those who finished bottom of their groups enter the classification matches, where hosts Singapore, who lost 32-5 to Italy in their final Group A game, will play Argentina, while Croatia take on South Africa in the other 13th-16th semi-final on July 17.