The FINA World Men’s Junior Championships started in Kuwait City today.
This is the 20th edition of this competition. Twenty teams, split into four groups, take part. After the Preliminary Stage, the group winners will qualify for the quarterfinals, while 2nd-placed and 3rd-placed teams will play in the crossover round.
The highlight of Day 1 was the derby of Group C – Spain defeated Hungary 9:7.
Title defender Greece beat Australia convincingly 16:9.
Croatia, the silver medalist at the previous championships in Belgrade 2017, had a slow start, but it collected the points in the match against South Africa (15:6).
Serbia, which won bronze in 2017, had a bye day.
2019 World Men’s Junior Championships, Kuwait, Day 1
Group A
South Africa – Croatia 6:15 (2:1, 3:5, 1:5, 0:4)
South Africa: Faber 3, Beamish 1, Howard 1, Stone 1.
Croatia: Zuvela 3, Paparic 2, Vrdoljak 2, Penava 2, Krekovic 1, Bajic 1, Krzic 1, Solje 1, Herceg 1, Biljaka 1.
Japan – China 12:9 (2:4, 3:2, 2:2, 5:1)
Japan: Inaba 8, Suzuki 1, Kobayashi 1, Maita 1, Watanabe 1.
China: Wang 4, Shi 1, Gao 1, Y. Liu 2, Wu 1.
Serbia bye.
South Africa took a surprising 2:0 lead in the opening match of the tournament, against Croatia. The Africans maintained an advantage (3:1, 4:2) until the middle of the second quarter. Than Croatia took control, and after the middle break, cruised to a win.
The Asian derby between Japan and China also was decided in the second half. The Chinese had a good start, and they led 4:1 in the first quarter, while Japan managed to reduce the gap until the end of the second period. At halftime, China had a slim 6:5 advantage. After the balanced third period (2:2), the Chinese were still ahead – 8:7. In the fourth period, Japan, led by the best scorer of the 2019 World League Super Final, Yusuke Inaba, who netted 8 goals today, secured a win – 12:9.
Standings: 1 Croatia 2, 2. Japan 2, 3. China 0, 4. South Africa 0, 5 Serbia -.
Group B
Canada – Egypt 12:8 (3:1, 1:4, 4:1, 4:2)
Canada: Cote 5, Djerkovic 4, Hening 3.
Egypt: Elzayat 2, Farahat 2, Hamed 1, Elsapagh 1, Saleh 1, Ziyad 1.
Spain – Hungary 9:7 (3:1, 2:3, 2:2, 2:1)
Spain: Valera 3, Paul 3, Sanahuja 1, Prieto 1, Asensio 1.
Hungary: Bobis 2, Baksa 1, Magyar 1, Vigvari 1, Fekete 1, Szeghalmi 1.
Russia bye
Spain earned a 3:1 lead after the first eight minutes of the big match of the day. But, Hungary managed to level the score -3:3 two minutes from the end of the 2nd period. However, Spain regained the advantage before the middle break – 5:4. The Spaniards built a 3-goal margin (9:6) with 02:56 remaining on the clock, and Hungary couldn’t come back. The Hungarians, which finished 4th in Belgrade 2017, scored just one goal to narrow the gap.
Canada took a flying start against Egypt for an early 3:0 lead. But, the Africans came back and they went ahead by the end of the 2nd quarter (5:4). Canada retook control in the third period and recorded the victory – 12:8.
Standings: 1. Canada 2, 2. Spain 2, 3. Hungary 0, 4. Egypt 0, 5. Russia -.
Group C
Kuwait – Iran 7:15 (1:7, 4:3, 1:2, 1:3)
Kuwait: Almajadi 2, Alwazan 2, Jasem 1,M. Dashti 1, H. Dashti 1.
Iran: Lalehsiahpirani 4, Aghaei 2, Moradinoghondar 2, Pourang 1, Ghareh 1, Fatehi 1, Jalilipour 1, Lofti 1, Khosor 1, Barzegarisharifabad 1.
USA – Italy 11:18 (3:5, 2:5, 1:3, 5:5)
USA: Daube 3, Vavic 3, Ehrhardt 2, Molthen 1, Woodhead 1, Zaan 1,
Italy: Novara 4, Spione 3, M. Di Martire 2, Ferrero 2, Narciso 2, Mezzarovva 2, Tartaro 2, G. Di Martire 1.
Montenegro bye.
Italy opened its campaign in Kuwait in style. By halftime, the Italians led 10:5. Before the last period, they stretched the margin to 7 (13:6) , and maintained the distance until the end.
Iran beat host Kuwait in the Arabic derby. The opening 7:1 quarter made the difference in the match.
Standings: 1 Iran 2, 2. Italy 2, 3. USA 0, 4. Kuwait 0, 5. Montenegro -.
Group D
Greece – Australia 16:9 (3:1, 6:4, 3:2, 4:2)
Greece: Gkouvetsis 5, Papanastasiou 5, Nikolaidis 4, Kakaris 1, Goniotakis 1.
Australia: Negus 3, Rector 1, Murphy 1, Vos 1, Oberman 1, Gillfeather 1, Byrnes 1.
Uzbekistan – New Zealand 6:22 (1:6, 1:8, 2:5, 2:3)
Uzbekistan: Osipyan 4, Kutumonbekov 1, Khoshimov 1.
New Zealand: Morris 7, Clark 4, Catlin 2, Ferigo 2, Paterson 2, Jager 1, Matthews 1, Schuler 1, Ratima 1, Brown 1.
Brazil bye
Greece, which won the gold at the previous World U20 Championships, held in Belgrade in 2017, defeated Australia easier than it was expected – 16:9. The leaders of the Greek team were three players who clinched the title in Belgrade two years ago. Meanwhile, they matured, playing in high-class club’s competitions: Alexandros Papanastasiou (Jug Dubrovnik) and Konstantinos Gkouvetsis (Vouliagmeni) scored five goals each, while Dimitrios Nikolaidis (Brescia) found the net four times.
New Zealand demolished Uzbekistan 22:6.
Standings: 1. New Zealand 2, 2. Greece 2, 3. Australia 0, 4. Uzbekistan 0, 5. Brazil -.
