Hungarian Water Polo Player Voted Best in the World This Year

MTI-Hungary Today 2023.12.21.

Gergő Zalánki was named Player of the Year, while Rita Keszthelyi came third in the women’s competition in the Total Waterpolo poll.

Gergő Zalánki has won everything he could this year: he won the World Championship with the national team, was voted the best player of the 2023 Water Polo World Championships, and won the Champions League with his club team, Italian Pro Recco. Zalánki finished top of the league with 179 points, ahead of Spain’s Felipe Perrone (70 points), and Álvaro Granados (68 points).

Another Hungarian player made it into the top ten, goalkeeper Soma Vogel (16 points) was eighth.

Soma Vogel. Photo via Facebook/FTC Vízilabda

Rita Keszthelyi finished third with 54 points behind Simone van de Kraats of the Netherlands (86 points) and Judith Forca of Spain (72 points) in the women’s competition.

Coaches, team captains, and writers took part in the voting, which was based on more than 5,000 votes.

Fact

In addition to the individual successes of Hungarian water polo players, the men’s team also had a fruitful year. In summer, they defeated the defending champions Spain 12-11 to reach the final of the Fukuoka World Aquatics Championships in Japan. This also means that they successfully qualified for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. After the match against Spain, the Hungarian team continued to excel and won the gold medal at the World Championships in Fukuoka, beating Greece 14-13 in the final. The Hungarian and Greek teams have met nine times in the history of the World Championships, with the Hungarians winning all of them.

Our Golden Week Continues - We Are Water Polo World Champions!

The Hungarian men's water polo team has won the gold medal at the World Championships in Fukuoka.Continue reading

Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/waterpolo.hu