After finishing fourth in Beijing, London, and Rio de Janeiro, the women's water polo team finally won their well-deserved bronze, securing Hungary's 19th Olympic medal in Tokyo.Continue reading
After 13 years, Hungary’s men’s national water polo team has won an Olympic medal, defeating Spain 9-5 in Tokyo’s bronze medal match. With their spectacular victory, the team has also won Hungary’s 20th medal at this year’s Olympics.
In the first half, the two teams were battling a head to head struggle, but in the last two quarters of the game, Hungarian defense proved impenetrable.
Photo by Tibor Illyés/MTI
In the second half, Spain could not score a single goal, largely thanks to Viktor Nagy. Playing his last professional match, the legendary goalkeeper yet again had an outstanding performance as he viciously protected the net from the Spanish players, making eight saves for Hungary.
The Hungarian water polo squad gained momentum in the fourth quarter, scoring three goals to set the final 9-5 result.
The victory is particularly special for Hungary, as this bronze is the men’s national team’s first medal since its run of three straight Olympic titles from 2000 to 2008.
Hungary’s women’s water polo team also won bronze (their first-ever Olympic medal), beating the Russian team on Saturday.
With the success of the men’s water polo team, the Hungarian team bagged 6 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze medals in total in Tokyo, making this the most successful Olympics for Hungary this millennium.
Featured photo by Tibor Illyés/MTI