The draw for the Olympic water polo tournament at the Paris Games (July 27 – August 11) was held today, after the final of the World Men’s Championships in Doha.
There were 22 teams in the pots (12 male and 10 female teams). There were no teams from Africa among them.
Both South African teams, which were supposed to be the representatives of their continent, withdrew from the Games (that was announced yesterday). The Africans were replaced by the best non-qualified teams at the World Championships in Doha – Canada women (8th place at the World Championships) and the men’s team of Romania, which finished 10th in Doha.
The pots for the draw were sorted by the standings at the previous competitions. The teams that qualified from last year’s World Championships (Hungary and Greece – men; Netherlands and Spain – women) were in the first line of the draw.
Both groups will bring interesting encounters. There will be a lot of derbies.
One of the highlights will be a replay of today’s men’s final in Doha. World champion Croatia and Italy, the silver medalist, were drawn into Group A. The European champion Spain, the Olympic champion Serbia and 2023 world champion Hungary are in Group B, etc.
Three semifinalists of the Doha female tournament – reigning world and Olympic champion, Team USA, Spain (bronze in Doha), and Greece (4th place in Doha) were sorted into the same group.
Men’s Olympic tournament
GROUP A
Croatia
Italy
Romania
Greece
USA
Montenegro
GROUP B
Australia
Serbia
France
Hungary
Japan
Spain
Women’s Olympic tournament
GROUP A
Hungary
Australia
Canada
China
Netherlands
GROUP B
France
Greece
Italy
USA
Spain
