The group stage at the men’s tournament at the World University Games in Chengdu. Two exciting matches were on today’s program.
Hungary and Greece shared the points in Group A (13:13), but that result didn’t impact the standings. Hungary kept the top spot in the group.
Italy secured 1st place in Group B earlier. Today, Georgia and Team USA faced off in a match that decided 2nd place. The USA narrowly defeated Georgia 7:6 and finished 2nd, behind Italy.
The female teams played the games of Round 3
2023 World University Games, men’s water polo tournament, Day 5
Even though the encounter between Greece and Hungary was a close contest, there was no big drama. Greece needed a 6-goal win to move from 3rd place in Group A. At the same time, the Hungarians would have dropped from the top spot only if they had lost by six goals and more. In the previous rounds, Hungary beat Germany 13:8, and Germany defeated Greece 12:7. At halftime, the sides were tied at 7:7. Hungary earned a 12:10 lead before the final quarter. Still, the Greeks tightened their defense and secured a consolation point in the last eight minutes – 13:13. The standings remained unchanged, Hungary finished in 1st, Germany in 2nd, and Greece in 3rd place.
Four players scored three goals apiece – Greece’s Nikolaos Kourovanis and Dimtrios Dimou, and Hungary’s Benedek Baksa Bendeguz Ekler.
Japan cruised to a win over Singapore (22:7) to take 4th place and qualify for the quarterfinals.
The game Georgia – USA in Group B was one of the most interesting duels of the tournament and the first one in which a winning team scored fewer than 11 goals. Georgia entered the second half with a slim advantage (3:2). The USA scored two unanswered goals in the third quarter. It went ahead – 4:3. The Americans kept a slim advantage in an exciting 6-goal fourth quarter (7:6). Seven players contributed to the USA’s wins with goals. In contrast, Andria Bitadze and Besarion Akhvlediani scored two apiece for Georgia.
Italy completed the group play with an easy win over Slovakia.
China beat South Korea 19:10 and qualified for the quarterfinals from 4th place in the group.
Group A
Greece – Hungary 13:13 (3:3, 4:4, 3:5, 3:1)
Japan – Singapore 22:7 (8:1, 3:3, 5:0, 6:3)
Germany bye
Standings: 1. Hungary 10, 2. Germany 9, 3. Greece 7, 4. Japan 3, 5. Singapore
Group B
Slovakia – Italy 6:22 (1:8, 0:4, 2:5, 3:5)
China – South Korea 19:10 (5:1, 3:2, 6:3, 5:4)
Georgia – USA 6:7 (1:1, 2:1, 0:2, 3:3)
Standings: 1. Italy 15, 2. USA 12, 3. Georgia 9, 4. China 6, 5. Slovakia 3, 6. South Korea 0.
Quarterfinals (Friday): Hungary – China,Germany – Georgia, USA – Greece, Japan – Italy.
2023 World University Games, women’s water polo tournament, Day 3
South Africa, Italy and the group leader China recorded convincing wins on Day 3 of the women’s tournament.
China continued its winning streak, beating Japan 19:5 with five goals from Xiao Chen. Italy trashed Australia. The Europeans had a 3:2 lead after the first eight minutes. In the following three quarters, the Italians, led by Chiara Ranalli (8 goals), stretched the margin to 16 – 19:3.
South Africa was too strong for Singapore (17:4)
Singapore – South Africa 4:17 (1:4, 2:3, 0:3, 1:7)
Australia – Italy 3:19 (2:3, 1:5, 0:5, 0:6)
Japan – China 5:19 (0:5, 2:5, 3:3, 0:6)
Standings: 1. China 9, 2. Italy 6, 3. Australia 3, 4. South Africa 3, 5. Japan 3 6. Singapore 0.
