So far, only once have both the men's and women's national teams played in the World Championships final.Continue reading
The Hungarian women’s water polo team finished as runners-up at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore after a 12-9 defeat to Greece in Wednesday’s final. Rita Keszthelyi, who was playing in her tenth World Championships, was voted MVP (most valuable player) of the tournament.
According to national team coach Sándor Cseh, the silver-winning Hungarian water polo team is very good, but it is not yet ready to win such a tournament. “First of all, I would like to thank the players and the staff, it has been a fantastic six months. I am very happy with the World Championships and the silver medal, but of course not with the final. One thing has become clear: we have a very good team, but we are not yet at the level to win a World Championship. The Greeks were more stable, they played better today and deserved the gold medal,” Cseh told MTI after the medal ceremony.
Head coach Sándor Cseh during the Hungary-Greece water polo final. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
In the final, a lot of things did not work the way they had before. On the first attack, we threw the ball beyond the baseline, a move that had been effective for weeks, and instead of blocking, we attacked the opponent, and in our reliable zone play, everyone was just looking for their position,”
said Cseh. “We were not stable enough in many aspects of the game today,” he added.
Kamilla Faragó (R) and Plevritu Vasziliki of Greece. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
The national team coach noted that in the future, both the players and the coaching staff need to continue to improve, and that at the moment, we should be very happy that the national team played two finals in six months.
Hungary’s team captain, Rita Keszthelyi, was voted the most valuable player of the tournament.
“I think it was a very good world championship, and except for today, we performed great in every match. We can go home with our heads held high because we lost to a Greek team that was better today and had luck on their side. Unfortunately, we only played freely when the ship had already sailed,” said the Hungarian athlete, who was competing in her tenth world championship.
She added that this is a new, still-developing team with many players for whom this was their first world championship:
With diligence, humility, and a lot of hard work, it will be even brighter,”
Keszthelyi said.
The Hungarian team finished second for the third time in the last four world championships, losing to the Americans in the final in Budapest in 2022, and in Doha last year. The Greeks celebrated their second world championship title, having previously triumphed in Shanghai in 2011.
On Thursday, the men’s team will compete for gold against Spain, starting at 3:35 p.m. Central European Time.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd