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Italy's Edoardo di Somma rises from coma to become water polo world champion
Italy's Edoardo Di Somma (No. 11) in action during the World Aquatics Championships men's water polo Group A penalty shootout win over Serbia.
SINGAPORE – In its 103-word entirety, English poet William Ernest Henley's Invictus is inked on Edoardo di Somma's thigh.
Latin for unconquered, Invictus is a poem about willpower and strength in the face of adversity, and few in the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships (WCH) field will have a story as terrifying and triumphant to tell as the Italian water polo player.
Three months before his 18th birthday in September 2014, di Somma was involved in a traffic accident that killed the driver of the other scooter and left him in a 10-day medically induced coma with multiple fractures, while his friend Giacomo Cocchiere broke his leg.
Incredibly, after being told by doctors he would never be able to play competitive sports again, he was celebrating a world title with his national team five years and 55 days later.
While the 28-year-old was disappointed to lose 17-11 to Greece in the WCH men's water polo quarter-finals at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on July 20 after beating Olympic champions Serbia on penalties in the group stage, he knows there are more important things in life and he is grateful to even be alive and be able to play the sport he loves.
Di Somma told The Straits Times: 'It was the hardest time of my life. I had to stay in my bedroom for eight months.
'When I looked at the gold medal, I experienced flashbacks. I remembered the first time I threw myself into the water after the accident, I couldn't even swim a length on my back, and with every breaststroke kick I felt excruciating pain in my pelvis.
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'I was drowning, I couldn't stay upright. I cried on the edge of the pool, but I stayed in the pool and with the help of my coaches, orthopaedist and physiotherapists, and the support of my family and friends, I slowly returned to swimming and playing.'
To take a line out of Invictus, di Somma has always been the master of his fate and the captain of his soul. As a youngster, he was a prolific attacker who scored goals for fun after being influenced by his older brothers Roman and Alessandro.
But shortly after he re-learnt how to play water polo following his accident, he was training to play as a defender in 2017, as he felt he needed extra attributes to become a national team regular.
And it was in this new position that he contributed to Italy's world championship-winning run in 2019, as well as silvers in 2022 and 2024.
Believing in miracles, di Somma is eyeing an Olympic medal with Italy following back-to-back quarter-final exits at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
Advising others in difficult situations to tackle them head-on like how he has done in and out of the pool, di Somma said: 'You can fall down in life, but you have to stand every time.
Italy's Edoardo di Somma (left) attempting a shot during the World Aquatics Championships men's water polo Group A win over Romania.
PHOTO: REUTERS
'When you have some problems, you have to solve them, so don't cry.'
The quarter-finals on July 2 0 saw the powerhouses take to the water, including di Somma's Italy.
His two goals were not enough as Italy, ranked world No. 7, were knocked out by world No. 4 Greece, losing 17-11. Greece goalkeeper and player of the match Panagiotis Tzortzatos put on a masterclass between the posts, boasting a 59 per cent save percentage.
World Cup champions and world No. 2 Spain will meet Greece in the semi-finals on July 22 after Bernat Sanahuja scored six goals en route to their comfortable 14-5 victory over world No. 8 Montenegro.
The other semi-final will be between Serbia and Hungary.
World No. 5 Serbia prevailed 14-9 over the sixth-ranked Americans, handing them their sole loss of the championships so far.
Hungary, world No. 3 and four-time world champions, eased past top-ranked Croatia, the title holders from Doha, 18-12.
In the morning, hosts Singapore concluded their world championship debut with a win, pipping South Africa to 15th place by 14-13 .
That slim victory could have been more comfortable had it not been for Goh Wen Zhe's red card in the fourth quarter. He admitted losing his cool as his moment of indiscipline swung the momentum in South Africa's favour.
It made for a nervy finale as the South Africans nearly closed a four-goal gap, but Singapore eventually held on for their first win of the tournament for either gender and they had goalkeeper Ken Chou to thank, with the 37-year-old making a staggering 13 saves.
'We knew that it wouldn't be easy. For South Africa, it was a revenge match for them,' said Chou, citing their 13-9 win in the water polo World Cup seven months ago.
As the oldest member of the squad, he believes that there is much potential for this 'relatively young team'.
He said: 'There's a lot of mental to build up on (for) this team to go to the next stage, but I think the seniors will definitely be there to help.'
Singaporean centre back Goh Wen Zhe scored a team-high three goals and also received a red card during the 15th–16th placing match against South Africa at the World Aquatics Championships.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Men's coach Kan Aoyagi agreed, saying: 'We are working really hard. They (these players) have never trained two times a day. They (have) never become a full-time athlete before January, and they were doing well these last six months.'
He complimented his team for 'completing our mission' of winning one game at the World Championships. When asked what were his plans ahead of the SEA Games in December, he instead looked further to the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
'I believe our standard now is not SEA Games standard. SEA Games is no issue,' said Aoyagi. 'Our next mission is to prepare for (the) next Asian Games. I want to be top four and try to get the medal.'
