International men’s water polo tournament: team Russia claims victory

The competition was held at the Burevestnik Swimming Pool, Kazan between June 12 and 14 in a round robin format. During these days the tournament host defeated the teams of Georgia and China and also tied with Spain. The title decider match was played on the final day of the tournament.

The competition was held at the Burevestnik Swimming Pool, Kazan between June 12 and 14 in a round robin format. During these days the tournament host defeated the teams of Georgia and China and also tied with Spain. The title decider match was played on the final day of the tournament.

For the gold match, which gives the winner the right to individual leadership, both teams came head to head with two wins in the bag. In previous days, the Russians and Spaniards proved their superiority over the national teams of Georgia and China. By the way, after winning games both favourites stopped at 10 missed goal mark in sync, while in attack the competition host was much more successful, enabling them to capture the interim leadership in the table due to a better goal difference. Thus, in the crucial meeting with Spain a tie was enough for the Russian team to win.

However, the coach of the Russian national team said the day before he would put his team in a winning mood. And to the credit of the Olympic champion of 1980, Erkin Shagaev remained faithful to his words. In the first half of the game the home team took the lead three times, but every time the Spaniards had the strength to restore parity. However, before the announcement of the half time, the guest team didn’t have enough time and strength left. The goal scored by Artem Odintsov prior to the midpoint of the game remained unmatched, 4-3.

Immediately after the half time Alexey Bugaychuk built on the progress by scoring from the penalty spot. Leading by two goals, the Russian team relaxed a little, and the Spaniards promptly took advantage of it. Nora and Mallarach returned intrigue to the match before the final period. 5-5 – before the fourth quarter promised an interesting ending.

And in the final period, the Spaniards even took the lead for the first time in the match. It was the best scorer of the tournament, Blai Mallarach, who managed yet another hat trick. But Artem Ashaev had his own plans on the outcome of the match, and he successfully played for putback after a throw by Sergey Lisunov. And it was a draw once again: 6-6. Sports heroism inspired the team for two more smashing attacks, but exactly the same two attacks were organised by the rivals: 8-8 just a minute before the end. Coaches took timeouts in turn, but the teams had no time to change the outcome of the game. It was a draw, which was equal to win for the Russians due to better difference between missed and scored goals.

Russia – Spain – 8-8 (3-2, 1-1, 1-2, 3-3)