Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-19 23:04:16

(BEIJING, August 19) — Wednesday, August 20 will see eight of the tournament’s twelve teams battling it out in the water to see who will advance to the next step on their way to gold.

Six teams are still in the running for a medal, with Hungary and the United States sitting comfortably with automatic semifinal entry. While there won’t be any medals on the line for the bottom six teams, they will surely be fighting for their pride in the classification matches for seventh through twelfth place.

The first quarterfinal will match Montenegro and Croatia to determine which team will advance to the semifinal against an undefeated Hungarian team.

European champions Montenegro scraped into the quarterfinals with a 5-5 draw against Australia on Monday 18 August. Montenegro took six points from the preliminary round, drawing with Hungary and Australia and only losing to Spain.

Montenegro’s big loss to Spain was a blip on the radar but their 5-5 draw with Australia showed they can be brittle when it comes to important matches, while Croatia beat China 16-4 in their final game to finish with four victories.

This is one of the traditional showdowns in world Water Polo in recent years. Having competed together as Yugoslavia, the two countries broke away and have become forces in their own right, along with Serbia. Montenegro is European champion and Croatia is world champion, while Serbia is World League champion.

Montenegro has one of the better conversion rates on extra-man advantage, scoring 16 from 26 while blocking 13 from 23 shots from the opposition. Montenegro is a dangerous team with every field player scoring at least one goal with six scoring four or more.

The second quarterfinal will match Spain and Serbia, with the winner going on to play the United States in the second semifinal.

Spain ended their preliminary round in a flourish, beating Greece 10-6 on Monday, August 18 for four victories behind winners Hungary. Serbia played without vigor in their final round match against Italy on Monday, looking lackluster as they appeared to go through the motions.

Spain finished third at the Melbourne 2007 FINA World Championships and they are within a whisker of retaining that lofty ranking. Serbia is the three-time world league champions and competing as Serbia & Montenegro in 2006, won the World Cup in Budapest, Hungary.

Spanish star Inaki Aguilar is sporting the best statistics for a lead goalkeeper with 59.5 per cent of saves.

Serbian Head coach Dejan Udovicic said his team ‘looked tired’ against Italy and he had no answers to their poor form all tournament. The one bright spot for Serbia was their extra-man conversion rate against Italy - a respectable five from seven attempts, while scoring machine Aleksandar Sapic pushed his goal tally to 19 with three goals against Italy on Monday.

Greece should be expected to win with their superior experience, although the enthusiasm of China, plus a huge fan base, should make it tough assignment in the first of the 7-12 classification matches between Greece and China.

Greece did not finish the preliminary round in the way they hoped to, losing 10-6 to Spain on Monday, August 18, leaving them stranded with just one win.

Greece’s extra-man statistics have not been kind, scoring only 10 from 34 while defending only nine of 29, though China lost five straight with the latest coming on Monday - a 16-4 loss to world champions Croatia.

The next 7-12 classification match will see Canada and Italy go head to head, with the winner going on to play Australia in the third semifinal.

Winless Canada has been looking forward to the second week of competition as the lowest-ranked team in group A. The outside firepower that got Canada into the Olympic Games has not been evident against the better teams but they will take their chances in the classification round.

Canada held Olympic champions Hungary to 7-3 after the third quarter of their encounter on Monday 18 August before being blown away 5-0 in the final period, while Italy played their best match of the tournament against Serbia, winning their second game on Monday.

Italy had the best extra-man-advantage statistics of the tournament against Serbia, shooting seven from 10 attempts, proving that the team with the best six-on-five count probably will win the match.

Canada has stopped 44 per cent of shots thrown at them in their five preliminary round games, while Italian goalkeeper Stefano Tempesti has played every minute of all five matches in Beijing 2008, blocking at 46.8 per cent.

Updated: 2008-08-19 18:52:57

(BEIJING, August 19) — After a day filled with shocks and upsets, the Netherlands have reserved their place to play the United States for the Women’s Water Polo gold medal at the Yingdong Natatorium on Thursday, August 21, while Australia will play Hungary for the bronze.

The first semifinal saw the Netherlands earn the right to play in their first Olympic final with a heart-stopping 8-7 victory over 2005 world champions Hungary on Tuesday.

The pool-side celebrations said it all as the Netherlands returned to the world stage after finishing fourth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and failing to qualify for Athens 2004.

The Netherlands dominated the sport in the pre-Olympic era of the 1980s and 1990s and the youthful side, under the direction of head coach Robin Van Galen, has the opportunity to add Olympic gold to eight World Cup crowns and one world championship.

Hungary led 2-1 at quarter time but a Netherlands team surge in the second quarter put them 4-3 ahead.

Agnes Primasz leveled at 4-4 early in the fourth period, but that was the last time Hungary were level.

The Netherlands went two ahead twice in the third quarter, but Aniko Pelle scored her second goal 20 seconds from the final break and the Hungarians trailed 7-6.

With nearly six minutes remaining Marieke Van Den Ham scored her third goal on extra-man advantage to make it 8-6. Pelle replied with her third, a drilled shot from outside at 2:33 on the clock.

Hungary took a timeout with 22 seconds left but turned the ball over soon after, leaving the Dutch to retain possession and an opportunity to realize their Olympic dream.

After the second semifinal, the US team will play in the gold medal match after crushing Australia’s gold medal hopes with a 9-8 score in the second semifinal.

Playing tight defensive Water Polo, keeping the Australians wondering who to pass to next, the United States excelled in the game, making patient passes and taking the right shots.

Australia was hurt by a poor extra-man performance, scoring just once from nine chances.

Neither team gave an edge during the first half of play, drawing level 2-2 in the first quarter and 4-4 at half-time.

In the third quarter, the United States, keeping the Australians to one goal and scoring three times themselves, took their biggest lead at 8-5.

Australia came back in the fourth quarter to score the first three goals the quarter.

But Brenda Villa scored the final goal, putting away another extra-man advantage goal and keeping the Unites States’ title hopes alive.

In the 5-6 Classification match, China pronounced their arrival on the world stage, beating defending Olympic champions Italy 10-7 to take fifth place.

China ware spearheaded by Gao Ao, who led her team with four goals in the match, three by way of five-meter penalty shots.

Italian Elisa Casanova had very little time in the pool after receiving another shot to the nose, leaving her on the bench in support. Her standout performance in center forward has left a mark on the tournament.

While the teams were being introduced before the match, Italy seemed to have tears in their eyes for captain Martina Miceli, because this was to be her last Olympic match - and could be her last international.

After losing to Italy 10-9 in the earlier round of play, China wanted to show Italy that they were out for the win, taking the first period 3-1. Liu Ping scored her team’s third goal with just 18 seconds left on the clock.

Scoring in the last seconds of the quarter seemed to be the theme of the game, with China’s Sun Huizi scoring with just five seconds left in the second quarter to lead 5-4.

Italy also scored late in the third quarter when Miceli scored with four seconds left to give the Italians their first lead of the game, 7-6.

Then China shut out Italy 4-0 in the fourth quarter and proved that their good play in Beijing 2008 was no fluke.

Updated: 2008-08-19 15:57:13

Sun Huizi (L) of China shoots. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

China beat Italy 10-7 in a Women’s Water Polo classification 5th-6th match of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at Yingdong Natatorium in Beijing, China, on August 19, 2008.

Ma Huanhuan of China celebrates a goal. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Chiara Brancati (L) of Italy saves the ball. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Download the Qualification System

In Detail — In Summary

ATHLETE QUOTA

Men 156 (12 teams x 13 players)

Women 104 (8 teams x 13 players)

TOTAL260

QUALIFICATION SYSTEM PRINCIPLES - MENEventQualificationTotalContinental Championships/Host nation1 team from each of the 5 continents will qualify5 teamsHost nationThe host nation will be the representative of that continent2007 World LeagueThe first team not yet qualified from the 2007 World League will qualify1 team12th FINA World Championships - 2007The first 3 teams not yet qualified will qualify3 teamsOlympic Games Qualification TournamentThe first 3 teams not yet qualified will qualify3 teamsTotalMen12 teamsQUALIFICATION SYSTEM PRINCIPLES - WOMENEventQualificationTotalContinental Championships/Host nation1 team from each of the 5 continents will qualify5 teamsHost nationThe host nation will be the representative of that continentOlympic Games Qualification TournamentThe first 3 teams not yet qualified will qualify3 teamsTotalWomen8 teams

Updated: 2007-08-01

Australia is the new junior women’s water polo world champion, after winning the seventh edition of the competition (from July 23-29, 2007) in Porto (POR). In the final, the Australians beat the biggest surprise of the championships, China, by 8-6, getting its second world title after the victory in 1999. The Asian team, only 14th two years ago, proved that water polo is spectacularly improving in the most populated country on earth and that the organisation of the Olympic Games next year in Beijing is producing results. It was the first final ever for China in a FINA water polo tournament. For the bronze medal, the USA, world champions in 2005, couldn’t be on the podium, losing with Hungary by 10-8.

In the final AUS-CHN, the Asian squad started very well its quest for the gold, triumphing in the first quarter by 3-2, thanks to quick moves in the attack and a very solid goalkeeper behind (she was voted the best of the championships). In the beginning of the second period, Australia misses a penalty and China continues by doing 4-2, but the team of ‘Down Under’ reduces to 4-3 on an extraman situation. The third quarter started with two very nervous teams, missing several attacks and again counting with a superior performance from the Chinese goalie. Despite an aggressive Asian squad, Australia ties at 4-4, result that led to the last eight minutes. What came next surprised all those who had witnessed the game: showing an evident concentration, Australia converted into goals its first four attacks, reaching a comfortable advance of 8-4, after the first 3:35m of the period. The game was decided, and China just reduced to 8-6 thanks to a penalty and a successful attack in the last 20 seconds.

Australia had won, after a win in 1999, a second place in 1995, 1997 and 2001, and a bronze medal in 2005. In the seven editions of the championships, its worst result was a sixth place in 2003.

If China was the positive surprise of the competition, the USA, only absent from the podium in 1999, was the negative one. Starting in a normal way its game against Hungary (win by 5-3 at half time), the European team appeared more calm in the third quarter reducing the difference to 6-7 (benefiting from two goals on extraman). In the start of the last period, the Hungarians did the 7-7, the Americans answered with one more goal, but the European squad was decided to play some minutes more and scored for 8-8. In the first three minutes of the additional time, the ball hits the bar of the American cage, but the Hungarians don’t give up and, with 30 seconds to go they score the 9-8. The remaining three minutes were quite balanced, but with 14 seconds to go, a successful lob from the left ’sealed’ the result in 10-8. It was Hungary’s second medal in the history of the competition, after a bronze also in 1999.

The two remaining games of the last day, opposed New Zealand and Netherlands for places 7-8. The Dutch squad controlled the match and won by 11-9. The Netherlands were world champions in the first edition of the competition in 1995. For the fourth and fifth place, a thrilling game between Spain and Italy (6-6 at the end of the regular time) dictated the victory for Italy by the minimal difference (7-6).

The best scorers of the competition were, with 27 goals, the Japanese Konaka Misa and the Australian Gemma Beadsworth. Jun Yang from China was voted the best goalkeeper of the championships.

(Credit: FINA. Click here for further information.)

Updated: 2007-06-22 From: Xinhuanet

JAKARTA, June 21 (Xinhua) — The Indonesian capital of Jakarta will host an international junior water polo championship at Senayan Swimming Stadium from June 27-30.

“This is the second championship. Teams from Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia will take part in the event,” organizing committee chairman Heru Purwanto was quoted Thursday by English daily The Jakarta Post as saying.

Heru expects competition at the event to be tight, particularly with the presence of Singapore, led by well-known coach Oberman Paul Dean.

At last year’s inaugural event, Indonesia beat Singapore in the

final of the men’s division. In the women’s division, Indonesia finished third behind Singapore and Hong Kong.

“Hopefully, this annual event can involve more countries and regions so that it can be recognized and put on the official calendar by the Asian Amateur Swimming Federation,” he said.

Updated: 2008-08-24 19:03:26

(BEIJING, August 24) — Hungary won a third consecutive Olympic gold medal to take their tally to nine Games titles by beating the US 14-10 in the Men’s Water Polo final at the Yingdong Natatorium on Sunday, August 24.

Classification 9th-10th

Italy 10 vs Germany 8

Italy and Germany played an uninspired ninth-place match. Italian Alessandro Calcaterra scored five goals for the day, finishing as the tournament’s top shooter with 27 goals. Calcaterra contributed more than a quarter of the Italian goals.

Classification 7th-8th

Greece 9 vs Australia 8

Greece, needing a top-three finish to gain entry to the 2009 Rome FINA World Championships, had to settle for seventh place with an upset victory over the Australians who lost three games - all by one goal. Georgios Ntoskas, Greece’s highest scorer with 20 goals, was kept scoreless with his two penalty attempts blocked by Australian goalkeeper James Stanton.

Classification 5th-6th

Spain 11 vs Croatia 9

Spain blew away world champions Croatia to lead 11-6 in the final quarter before allowing Croatia to finish with a flourish. Croatia had led 2-0 at the quarter but it was level 5-5 by half-time with Spain holding an 8-6 lead at the final break.

Bronze medal match

Serbia 6 vs Montenegro 4

Serbia, playing without the injured scoring machine Aleksandar Sapic and goalkeeper Denis Sefik, controlled the match from the start and romped to 6-1 midway through the third period. The Serbian scoring stopped as Montenegro clawed their way back into the game but could not produce enough to win and Serbia won the bronze medal.

Gold medal match

Hungary 14 vs US 10

Hungary beat off a stern challenge from the US team to win their ninth title with six players experiencing Olympic victory for the third time. The opening quarter threw up 10 goals and by half-time Hungary led 9-8. The margin moved to two at the final break and then 14-9 in the final period before US fired in their 10th goal too late to realize their Olympic dreams.