The Hungarian girls are the new world champions for the juniors. Hungary defeated Spain by three goals (13:10), in the final of the 2023 World Women’s U20 Championships in Coimbra.
This is the first-ever gold medal for Hungary in the history of the World Women’s U20 Championships. Hungary clinched the “double junior crown” this year. A few months ago, the male team of the “land of water polo” took the gold medal at the Men’s U20 Championships.
The Netherlands secured the bronze medal by defeating Italy 13:11 in the 3rd-place match.
Final standings: 1. Hungary, 2. Spain, 3. Netherlands, 4. Italy, 5. USA, 6. Greece, 7. Israel, 8. New Zealand, 9. Australia, 10. Brazil, 11. Croatia, 12. Canada, 13. France, 14. Japan, 15. Kazakhstan, 16. Portugal, 17. South Africa, 18. Chile, 19. India.
2023 World U20 Women’s Championships, Day 8
Final
Yesterday, Spain, the winner at the previous edition of the World U20 Championships, sank the Netherlands in the semifinals (14:4). Hungary advanced to the final with a 10:9 win over Italy. However, Hungary saved more energy for the most important match even though it played a more demanding game in the semis.
The Hungarians were in front for 30 minutes of the final game. Panni Zita Szegedi converted the first penalty in a match to a 1:0 lead. The same player added an action goal two minutes later, and Hungary doubled its advantage.
Spain never caught up with the Hungarians. The defending champions halved the deficit a few times during the first half (2:3, 3:4, 5:6, 6:7). Sixteen seconds before the end of the 2nd period, Eszter Varro found the net for 8:6. Shortly after halftime, Hungary broke the opponents’ resistance. The Hungarians opened the second half with four goals and went to 12:6 by the middle of the third quarter. Spain couldn’t recover from a 0:5 series, so the contest was practically over even before the final eight minutes. Spain just reduced the gap – 13:10
Spain – Hungary 10:13 (3:5, 3:3, 2:4, 2:1)
Spain: M. Teere, G. Gallinato, I. Piralkova 1, A. Marcos, C. Nogue, N. Perez, P. Prats 2, Q.Bertran, D. Moreno, A. Munoz 1, E. Ruiz 5, M.Palacio 1, B. Colominas,
Hungary: B. Neszmely, T. Aubeli 1, F. Fekete, K. Hajdu 1, E.Macsai 1, N. Sumegi 2, E. Varro 3, L. Kardos, P. Szegedi 3, P.Tiba 1, R.Irmes, D. Domsodi 1, S. Golopencza.
Classification matches
The Netherlands recovered from a catastrophic 4:14 defeat to Spain in the semifinals and climbed the third step of the podium. The Dutch dictated the pace throughout the 3rd-place match, but Italy came back from time to time. Still, the “Setterossa” equalized just once – in the early stage of the game (1:1). The Dutch team led 4:2 at the first break. For most of the second quarter, the sides traded the goals. Italy reduced the gap to one three times. Two minutes before halftime, Leona Moreno made it 5:6. However, the Dutch netted three unanswered goals in the last 01:55 minutes of the second quarter and jumped to 9:5. That 3:0 run was a turning point. The Netherlands controlled the game in the remaining two periods and recorded a 13:11 win.
Team USA finished in 5th place, just like at the senior World Championships in Fukuoka. The Americans beat Greece 14:13 in the 5th-place game. The Europeans got off to a great start and took a 6:2 lead (14th minute). However, the Americans earned a slim 10:9 lead just before the last break. They scored three goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter for 13:9. The Greeks came very close at the finish (12:13), but Emma Lineback secured a win for the USA by converting a 6 on 5 for 14:12 with 18 seconds left on the clock. The Greeks scored a consolation goal in the dying seconds.
Israel won 7th place with a convincing 15:6 victory over New Zealand.
Bronze-medal match
Netherlands – Italy 13:11 (4:2, 5:3, 2:2, 2:4)
Netherlands: K. Sanne, N. De Vries 2, R. De Kleer 1, A. Roekevisch 3, N. Van de Gein, S. Slot, L. Den Ouden 2, F. Voodrouw , L. Moolhuijzen 2, R. Jutte 1, D. Logtens, A, Christdoulou-Out 2, P. Gorter.
Italy: H. Santapaola, M. Leone 3, P. Di Maria, R. Bianchi 1, E. De March, S. Giustini 3, V. Sbruzzi 2, D. Bettini 2, V. Santoro, M. Giuffrida, O. Sesena, L. Papi, B. Cassara.
5th-place match
USA – Greece 14:13 (1:1, 2:5, 7:3, 4:4)
United States: C. Carpenter, E. Ausmus, M. Netherton, A. Stryker 5, T. Smith J. Flynn 2, J. Bonaguidi 2, E. Lineback 1, Q.Healy, E. Woodhead, L. Steele, R Gazzaniga, A. Pearson.
Greece: A. Karampetsou, S. Santa, S. Kaifa, C. Siouti 2, T. Moustakaria, E. Tsimara, S. Tornarou 1, D. Koureta 4, N. Chaldaiou 1, F. Tricha 3, F. Angelidi, E. Konstantopoulou, A. Kalaitzi.
7th-place match
Israel – New Zealand 15:6 (3:2, 3:1, 4:1, 5:2)
Israel: M. Katza, T. Levi 3, M. Katzir, N. Levinshtein, A. Yaacobi 4, M. Vashdi, D. Menakerman 3, D. Namakshtanksy, N. Sasover 3, N. Markovsky 1, R. Gazit, N. Kurtsev, C. Rahum 1.
New Zealand: T. Ahovelo, I. Jackson, E. Weston, L. Batcherlor 1, D. Spark 2, B. Fonoti 1, G. Daly, H.Roberts, A.Weston, E. Goldsmith, S. Gardiner, G. Doyle 1, H.Dunn 1.
9th-place match
Australia – Brazil 16:10 (5:5, 6:3, 4:2, 1:0)
Australia: E. Gath, S. Henderson, A. Pamp, K. Blew 2, E. Putt 1, T. Dawkins 6, T. Taoso, M. Nasser 1, M. Ogg, N. Thomas 1, J. Higgs, S. Green 4, L. Smith 1.
Brazil: S. Freitas, A. De Barros Silva, G. Postigo, A. Neves, M. Cadengue 1, S. Azevedo 2, L. Lorieto, M. Nascimento 1, J. Cavalante 2, R. Moreira 3, L. Bonetti, K. Da Silva 1, S. Bedani
11th-place match
Canada – Croatia 7:12 (2:1, 3:3, 1:4, 1:4)
Canada: S. Lapierre, E. Cowan, E. Lawson 2, A. Ferguson, A. Burlock 1, L. Levin, M. Hack, L. Ahmad, G. Patenaude, S. Browne 2, R. Peiravani 1, K. Featherstone1, C. Monteil
Croatia: L. Medvesek, A. Stipanov, N. Eterovic, J. Butic 2, M. Butic 3, R. Glas 2, N. Medic 1, N. Alamat, A. Desnica, I. Rozic 2, D. Kangler, L. Korac, A. Goreta 1.
13th-place match
Japan – France 17:19 (5:3, 4:5, 6:6, 2:5)
Japan: S. Ajikawa, M. Inoue 4, S. Kobayashi 1, S. Fukuda 1, K. Sugimoto 2, M. Nishiyama 1, S. Katada, H. Yamamoto, K. Hanai 2, M. Kobayashi 5, S. Sekine 1, R. Otsubo, H. Miyagawa.
France: P. Martineaud Peret, J. D’Halluin 4, J. Bouchara, C. Bouloukbachi 4, L. Jean-Michel, L. Vernoux, L. Andres 1, E. Vernoux 4, L.Di Fraja 1, T. Raspo 2, E.Duflos , E. Lefebvre.
15th-place match
Portugal – Kazakhstan 6:10 (1:3, 1:3, 0:4, 1:4)
Portugal: M. Riberio, A. Rodrgues 1, C. Fernandes 1, I. Dos Santos, C. Quinhentas, C. Periera, M. Lousa 4, J. Arromba, M. Machado, M. Tejo, M. Mendes, M. De Carvalho, B.De Sousa, A.Vicente.
Kazakhstan: V. Kolesnichenko, D. Pochinok 1, A. Glukhova 1, V. Kaplun 2, V. Anossova 1, M. Rakhmanova, K. Nauryzbayeva, O. Vorontsova 1, M. Nabiyeva 2, A. Lemachko 2, Y. Druzhinina, A. Altybassarova, M. Martynenko.
17th-place match
Chile – South Africa 3:17 (1:6, 1:3, 0:4, 1:4)
Chile: A. De Andres, M.Dufflocq, A. Hernandez, I.Del Villar 1, D.Zavala, B.Gutierrez 2, A. Anttillanca, A.Guerrero, A. Puelma, P.Torres, C. Beltran, V.Diaz, V.Roa.
South Africa:O.Gando, T.Macdonell, T.Caswell 1, S. Murray 3, E. Thornton 1, E.Zondo 3, G.Eccles 1, J.Williams, J. Van den Bosch 3, M.Haword 4, M.Boaventura, J.van den Bosch 1, C.Mentz.
All medal winners
2023, Coimbra, Portugal – 1. Hungary, 2. Spain, 3. Netherlands
2021, Netanya, Israel – 1. Spain, 2. Greece, 3. Hungary
2019, Funchal, Portugal – 1. Russia, 2. Netherlands, 3. Italy
2017, Volos, Greece – 1. Russia, 2. Greece, 3. Netherlands
2015, Volos, Greece – 1. United States, 2. Spain, 3. Russia
2013, Volos, Greece – 1. United States, 2. Spain, 3. Greece
2011, Trieste, Italy – 1. Spain, 2. Hungary, 3. Australia
2009, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia – 1. Russia, 2. Netherlands, 3. United States
2007, Porto, Portugal – 1. Australia, 2. China, 3. Hungary
2005, Perth, Australia – 1. United States, 2. Russia, 3. Australia
2003, Calgary, Canada – 1. Canada, 2. United States, 3. Spain
2001, Perth, Australia – 1. United States, 2. Australia, 3. Russia
1999, Messina, Italy – 1. Australia, 2. Canada, 3. Hungary
1997, Prague, Czech Republic – 1. Greece, 2. Australia, 3. United States
1995, Sainte-Foy, Canada – 1. Netherlands, 2. Australia, 3. United States
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