Hungary won three medals at a World Championship for the first time.Continue reading
The Hungarian women’s water polo team defeated the Olympic champion Spanish team 15-9 in Monday’s semifinal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. For the second time in a row and the sixth time in its history, the national team will play in the World Championships final. On Wednesday, they will face the World Cup-winning Greek team, who they defeated 10-9 in the opening match of the group stage ten days ago.
According to Sándor Cseh, coach of the Hungarian women’s water polo team, practically everything worked perfectly in the semifinal against Spain, the Olympic champions. “Spain is a very good team that is currently undergoing a transformation, and still needs to develop harmony with the staff. This result does not mean that we are that much better. The stakes are huge in this match, lifting the scoring team to the heavens and pushing the opponent into the depths, and the team sensed this. I am a believer in pushing the accelerator as long as possible,” said Cseh in the mixed zone.
Natasa Rybanska and Paula Leitón Arrones of Spain. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
The expert noted that practically everything worked perfectly in this match, highlighting the performance of goalkeeper Boglárka Neszmély and the fantastic blocks. “It is hard to find any negatives right now, but the final stretch of a world championship is not about that, but about preparing for the next match with confidence,” he added.
In two days, the year will be practically over. There was a World Cup, a well-organized competition, practically a mini world championship, and there, as well as here now, we were playing the Greeks in the final, meaning that during this period, the competitions were all about these two national teams. This is a huge honor for us. They may be as excited as we are, we do not know what will happen, but we will prepare as best we can,”
said Cseh.
Eszter Varró (L) Nona Pérez Vivas of Spain. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
Team captain Rita Keszthelyi has lost to Spain in virtually every major world competition over the past 13 years. The star, who is competing in her tenth world championship, spoke through tears in the mixed zone about how she had been waiting for this moment for almost her entire career and how grateful she was to her teammates and the coaching staff for allowing her to be part of this victory.
The special award for the best player of the match went to Boglárka Neszmély, who saved 14 of 23 shots, a 61 percent efficiency rate.
The blocks meant a lot, I had to defend a lot, but the girls helped me out fantastically. We did not let up for a moment, we stayed focused at the back and were brave up front. It was an incredible feeling to watch the others score goals, at times like that I just revel in the moment,”
said the Hungarian goalkeeper.
Neszmély added that, in her opinion, it is a “once in a hundred” opportunity to play in a world championship semifinal like this: “I will remember this match for the rest of my life. There was not a moment of tension, there was no pressure on us, we just played for each other.”
Goalkeeper Boglárka Neszmély during the Greece-Hungary match in the first round of the women’s water polo group stage at the World Aquatics Championships on July 11. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
Vanda Vályi said that they managed to step up their game after the quarter-finals: “It was really enjoyable to play with the team, we did not let the Spanish come back into the match, and we were able to block them mentally.”
The Hungary-Greece final will be held on Wednesday at 3:35 p.m. Central European Time.
The men’s water polo team is also excelling at the World Championships: with their 18-12 quarterfinal victory over defending champions Croatia on Sunday, it was decided that for the first time in six years, the men’s team will also be competing for a medal.
They will face Serbia in the semifinals, a team that underwent significant changes between 2022 and 2024, and ultimately won the Olympic Games for the third time in a row last year, much to everyone’s surprise. The rivals have met several times recently: the Hungarians won 17-13 in the group stage in the French capital, and the Serbs also lost in the BENU Cup prior to the World Championships, with the match ending 13-12.
The men’s national team will face the Olympic champions Serbia in Tuesday’s semifinal, with the match scheduled to start at 3:35 p.m. Central European Time.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd