Nine Hungarian players were among the scorers in the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka.Continue reading
The Hungarian women’s water polo team won by a confident 23-5 over New Zealand in the third round of the Olympic qualifying tournament in the framework of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, thus qualifying directly to the last eight with a 100% performance.
The two finalists will qualify for next year’s Olympics in Paris.
The Hungarian and New Zealand teams have a lot in common, as coach Attila Bíró was the national team captain of the island nation, Rebecca Parkes was born in Hamilton, and Dorottya Szilágyi got to know the sport in the same city.
Although New Zealand scored the first goal in the match, the Hungarians easily came back – with Natasa Rybanska scoring for the first time in the tournament – and finished the opening eight minutes with a 6-3 lead.
In the second period, the Hungarian team focused mainly on defense, and as a result they finished the eight minutes without conceding a goal (9-3).
The first minutes of the third quarter were all about Dorottya Szilágyi, who scored three times in a row, before the rival broke the scoring drought, lasting almost a quarter and a half. Shortly afterwards, the New Zealanders were able to open the scoring in the last seconds of the period, although goalkeeper Boglárka Neszmély had made several big saves before that. The Hungarians closed the quarter with nine goals (18-5).
The game remained the same in the final eight minutes, with a huge gap between the two teams, ending 23-5.
Attila Bíró, captain of the national team, said that he had again devised a “special challenge” for the team that is not public, but he emphasized that his players had completed ninety-nine percent of them.
Attila Bíró, captain of the Hungarian national team (C). Photo via MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
“I cannot be dissatisfied, but this match has no major implications. I’m looking forward to the next two days as we have training matches against the Netherlands and the defending champions, the Americans. I will be able to see what kind of shape we are in, as we will be playing with the best, like on Monday, for example,” he added, referring to the quarter-final, where his team will probably play against Spain. “I think we will find their weak points, which are our weaknesses as well, and that is how we will prepare for it in the next two days,” noted the captain.
Bíró’s team will next take to the pool on Monday, when they face European champions, Spain.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/waterpolo.hu