SEA GAMES 2013: Polo Air mempertahankan tradisi

Indonesia vs Malaysia

Tim polo air berhasil mempertahankan tradisi dengan meraih medali perak. Sepanjang sejarah keikutsertaan tim polo air pada Sea Games selalu gagal meraih medali emas dan selalu diganjal Singapura.

Dan Singapura pula muncul sebagai tim superior ajang Sea Games dalam cabang polo air. Sehingga timbul anggapan, pertarungan tim peserta polo air hanya memperebutkan medali perak, sedangkan medali emas menjadi milik Singapura.

Pada Sea Games 2013 yang berlangsung di Zayar Thiri Swimming Pool, 6-10 Desember, tim polo air Indonesia hanya mampu meraih medali perak.

Dalam babak penyisihan Indonesia mengalami kekalahan 5-8 dari Singapura dan mengalahkan lawan-lawan yang lain, termasuk Thailand 12-7.

Hasil 5-8 sebetulnya cukup berimbang artinya persaingan sangat ketat dan bukan tak mungkin pada Sea Games mendatang, tim polo air Indonesia mampu mengalahkan Singapura dimana polo air sudah menjadi bagian hidup masyarakatnya.

Pembinaan harus ditingkatkan melalui kompetisi, pemilihan pemain berlangsung secara fair bukan karena kedekatan dengan pengurus.

Semoga pada Sea Games mendatang prestasi atlet kita bisa lebih meningkat, tidak hanya dibagian putra tapi juga putri.

Hasil

Sea Games 2013

Zayar Thiri Swimming Pool Myanmar

06-10 Dec 2013.

FRI 06 DEC 2013: MYA 3 - 22 THA

FRI 06 DEC 2013: SIN 18 - 7 MAS

SAT 07 DEC 2013: THA 9 - 3 MAS

SAT 07 DEC 2013: MYA 1 - 30 INA

SUN 08 DEC 2013: MAS 2 - 16 INA

SUN 08 DEC 2013: THA 5 - 8 SIN

MON 09 DEC 2013: INA 5 - 8 SIN

MON 09 DEC 2013: MAS 28 - 11 MYA

TUE 10 DEC 2013: INA 12 - 7 THA

TUE 10 DEC 2013:  SIN 21 - 13 MYA

Medallists

SIN – Singapore (gold)

INA – Indonesia (silver)

THA – Thailand (bronze)

BETAWI CUP 2013: Ajang Pemanasan Timnas Menuju SEA Games

JAKARTA (POLO AIR): Pelaksanaan turnamen polo air internasional Betawi Cup VIII/2013 di Cisarua, Jawa Barat, 21-24 November nanti, berbeda dari pelaksanaan sebelumnya. Pasalnya, event yang dilaksanakan dalam rangka HUT DKI Jakarta ini bukan hanya melibatkan timnas polo air yang dipersiapkan ke SEA Games Myanmar 2013, melainkan juga tim luar negeri yang berkualitas.

Sampai saat ini sudah tercatat delapan tim yang dipastikan tampil, yakni Uzbekistan, Guangzhou, Hunan dari China, Tim PON DKI Jakarta, dan Tim PON Jabar masing-masing dua tim, termasuk timnas polo air SEA Games 2013 yang diperkuat delapan atlet DKI Jakarta.

"Melalui Betawi Cup, kita tingkatkan prestasi polo air Indonesia, khususnya DKI Jakarta," kata Kepala Dinas Pemuda dan Olahraga (Kadispora) DKI Jakarta Ratiyono di Jakarta, Senin (18/11).

Ketua Bidang Pembinaan Prestasi Pengprov PRSI DKI Jakarta Calvin Legawa mengatakan, Betawi Cup yang sudah digelar untuk ke delapan kalinya telah menghasilkan prestasi signifikan bagi DKI Jakarta. Hal ini bisa dilihat dengan diraihnya seluruh medali emas pada PON Riau 2012. Dan, tim polo air Ibu Kota juga tampil menjadi yang terbaik di event nasional, baik kejurnas maupun Liga Polo Air Nasional.

"Betawi Cup ini bukan hanya memberikan pengalaman bertanding bagi tim PON 2016 DKI Jakarta, melainkan bagi timnas SEA Games Myamar 2013. Tim luar negeri yang diundang kualitasnya bisa dipertanggungjawabkan," kata Calvin, sembari menyebut tim polo air Hunan masuk sebagai tim tiga terbaik China.

"Saya tahu persis kualitas tim Hunan, karena tim PON DKI Jakarta pernah menjalani latihan dan uji coba bersama," ucap Calvin, yang menyebut target tim PON DKI Jakarta meraih perak, baik di putra maupun putri.

Dijelaskan Calvin, pertandingan polo air kali ini terpaksa digelar di luar Jakarta. Sebab, pada saat bersamaan, kolam renang Gelora Bung Karno dipergunakan untuk pelaksanaan Kejurnas Renang Indah serta Kejurnas Loncat Indah.

"Soal fasilitas kolam renang untuk meningkatkan prestasi akuatik tak perlu khawatir. Kita sudah merencanakan membangun kolam renang standar internasional di Rawamangun," tutur Ratiyono. (Suara Karya)

Peluang Terbuka Bagi Atlet Nonpelatnas

Jakarta, POLO AIR  - Polo Air nasional putaran II di Kolam Renang Tirta Lega, Bandung, Jawa Barat, menunjukkan peningkatan kualitas pemain polo air Indonesia yang cukup merata.

Hal itu membuat Persatuan Renang Seluruh Indonesia (PRSI) membuka peluang untuk atlet nonpelatnas (Pemusatan Latihan Nasional) SEA Games XXVII Myanmar untuk bisa masuk ke dalam tim inti SEA Games polo air.

Kepala Bidang Pembinaan Prestasi Pengurus Besar (PB) PRSI Heru Purwanto mengatakan penilaian tim kepelatihan dan Binpres PRSI akan didasarkan pada dua putaran Liga Polo Air Nasional yang baru digelar.

Atlet Pelatnas yang menunjukkan performa buruk bisa saja terdepak dari Pelatnas SEA Games. Sebaliknya juga berlaku bagi atlet nonpelatnas.

"Seperti Hendri Marciano, dia itu kapten tim polo air SEA Games 2011 yang tidak terpanggil sebelumnya. Tapi di putaran II dia ternyata masih bagus performanya, jadi kita panggil untuk penilaian," ujar Heru.

Heru hanya memastikan bahwa tim inti yang berjumlah 13 orang merupakan pilihan berdasarkan kolektivitas binpres dan tim kepelatihan.

Akan tetapi, jumlah atlet di Pelatnas akan tetap 18 atlet dengan 5 orang dibiayai PRSI. (metro)

13 atlet polo air tampil di SEA Games

Jakarta, POLO AIR - 13 atlet polo air nomor putra terpilih lewat seleksi nasional pada Liga Polo Air putaran kedua di Kolam Renang Tirtalega Kota Bandung, pekan lalu, yang akan dipersiapkan untuk ajang multievent SEA Games Myanmar 2013.

"Hari ini kami baru selesai rapat memilih atlet dan akan diajukan kepada Satlak Prima (Satuan Pelaksana Program Indonesia Emas), juga mengajukan rencana uji coba di China," kata Kepala Bidang Pembinaan dan Prestasi (Kabid Binpres) PRSI, Heru Purwanto kepada ANTARA News, Senin.

Liga Polo Air adalah ajang seleksi terakhir atlet Pelatnas yang telah mulai berlatih sejak April karena kuota tim polo air dibatasi hanya 13 orang untuk SEA Games Desember mendatang. Sebelumnya, telah digelar seleksi pertama di Padang, Sumatera Barat, 4-8 Agustus lalu.

Meskipun begitu, PRSI menyiapkan lima atlet tambahan atlet U-17 untuk bergabung dalam pelatnas polo air dengan biaya sendiri dari PRSI, sementara 13 atlet terpilih tersebut didanai pemerintah lewat Satlak Prima karena polo air memainkan tujuh orang dalam laganya sehingga tim akan kesulitan sparing saat latihan jika jumlah tim ganjil.

"Hanya saja lima orang atlet tambahan ini tidak diturunkan di SEA Games, selain sebagai pemain untuk sparing mereka dipersiapkan untuk tampil di Kejuaraan Asia (di Singapura 25-30 September). Kejuaraan Asia itu untuk kualifikasi Kejuaraan Dunia U-18 tahun depan," jelas Heru.

Atlet pelatnas polo air rencananya juga akan menjalani uji coba ke Guangzhou, China, untuk meningkatkan kualitas meskipun saat seleksi, atlet cukup menunjukkan kemajuan. Selama menunggu persetujuan Satlak Prima, para atlet sementara berlatih di Puncak, Jawa Barat.

"China terkenal bagus dengan polo airnya, mereka juga juara Asia. Kita juga sudah cukup paham dengan negara tersebut, sudah ada asramanya," ujar Heru yang berharap atlet pelatnas polo air bisa segera dikirim ke China paling lambat pertengahan September mengingat waktu yang semakin mendesak jelang SEA Games. (ANTARA News)

DKI Kalahkan Jabar di Bandung

BANDUNG, POLO AIR — Tim polo air putra DKI Jakarta mengalahkan tuan rumah Jawa Barat 19-8 pada ajang Liga Polo Air Indonesia II/2013 di Kolam Renang Tirtalega Kota Bandung, Jumat (30/8/2013).
  
Tim Jabar yang sempat mencetak gol perdana pada laga itu tidak kuasa membendung keperkasaan tim Jakarta yang dimotori pemain timnas polo air Hendri Marciano.
   
Tim Jabar hanya bisa mengimbangi tim Ibu Kota itu pada kuater pertama dengan skor 3-2, selanjutnya tertinggal pada kuarter kedua dengan skor 9-4. Akhirnya tim Jabar harus menyerah dengan skor 19-8.
   
Ajang final Liga Polo Air Indonesia II itu juga sebagai ajang seleksi untuk mewakili Indonesia ke ajang Kejuaraan AASF 2013 di Singapura dan SEA Games 2013 Myanmar.

Kekalahan juga dialami oleh tim Putra Jabar U-17 yang turun di ajang final Kejurnas 2013. Tim Jabar U-17 itu dikalahkan DKI dengan skor 6-13. Namun, kubu tuan rumah sedikit terobati dengan keunggulan tim putri Jabar U-17 yang mengalahkan DKI dengan skor 11-6 di ajang kejurnas yang dipertandingkan di partai final terakhir.
   
Penyelenggaraan Liga Polo Air 2013 di Bandung ini merupakan tempat kedua setelah seri I digelar di Padang 4-8 Agustus 2013 lalu.
   
Pada laga di Bandung Liga Polo Air diikuti oleh 22 tim dari sembilan provinsi khusus untuk tim putra. Tim U-17 putra diikuti delapan provinsi ditambah Jatim, Pemkot Medan, Musi Banyuasin, dan Sulsel, sedangkan tim putri diikuti empat provinsi. (antara)

Italy and USA, the Best in Water Polo

POLO AIR. Italy and USA were respectively the winners of the men’s and women’s edition of the FINA World Junior Water Polo Championships (20 & under), which place from August 12-25, 2013. In Szombathely (HUN), the men’s tournament gathered 16 teams from August 12-18, and the Italian squad took the gold medal after a successful win over Croatia by 10-7. The bronze went to Serbia, who defeated the Hungarians in the minor final (13-10).

Final ranking (Men): 1. ITA, 2. CRO, 3. SRB, 4. HUN, 5. USA, 6. ESP, 7. BRA, 8. AUS, 9. JPN, 10. RUS, 11. CAN, 12. UZB, 13. SVK, 14. RSA, 15. KAZ, 16. COL

In Volos (GRE), the women’s competition was contested between 15 teams on August 19-25, and the favourite USA got the crown, after a 9-7 victory over Spain. The host squad of Greece was the happy winner of the bronze medal, defeating Russia by a thrilling 7-6.

Final ranking (Women): 1. USA, 2. ESP, 3. GRE, 4. RUS, 5. ITA, 6. HUN, 7. AUS, 8. GBR, 9. CAN. 10. NZL, 11. UZB, 12. UKR, 13. BRA, 14. KAZ, 15. RSA

WP 20 & U (W): USA gets the gold in Volos (GRE)

Lausanne (SUI), POLO AIR (August 26, 2013) – The team of USA won the FINA World Women’s Junior Water Polo Championships, organised in Volos (GRE) from August 19-25, 2013. In the decisive game of the competition, the North Americans triumphed over Spain by 9-7. The Iberians were the 2011 champions, and at senior level had also lost to the North Americans in the 2012 Olympic final, clinching however the world title at the recent 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona (ESP). For USA, this result was a huge improvement compared with the eighth place two years ago in the Junior World Championships.

The bronze medal went to the host team of Greece, who defeated Russia by 7-6 in a thrilling match defining the third and fourth position. The Hellenic squad was sixth in 2011, while the Russians had also stayed at the podium’s door two years ago in Trieste (ITA).

Italy and Hungary fought for the fifth place, with the Italians clearly dominating by 10-6, and Australia got the seventh spot by winning 14-3 over Great Britain.

The complete ranking of the Championships in Volos was:

FINAL RANKING

1.	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
2.	SPAIN (ESP)
3.	GREECE (GRE)

4. RUS; 5. ITA; 6. HUN; 7. AUS; 8. GBR; 9. CAN; 10. NZL;

11. UZB; 12. UKR; 13. BRA; 14. KAZ; 15. RSA

In individual terms, the best player of the tournament was Rachel Fattal (USA), while her teammate Ashleigh Johnson earned the prize for the best goalkeeper. As for the most goals (23) of the tournament, they were scored by Spain’s Roser Tarrago Aymerich.

Liga dan Kejurnas U-17: Tim Polo Air Sumbar Berlaga di Bandung

Padang, Padek, POLO AIR -  Tim polo air putra Sumbar diberangkatkan untuk me­ngi­kuti Liga Polo Air putaran II yang akan dilaksanakan 26-30 Agus­tus di Kolam Renang Tirta Lega, Bandung. Selain itu, Sumbar juga mengirimkan tim polo air untuk mengikuti Kejurnas Polo Air Yunior U-17. Pada liga dan kejurnas ini, Sumbar bertekad memberikan hasil maksimal, paling tidak mempertahankan gelar seba­gai runner-up pada putaran I beberapa waktu lalu di Padang. 

”Sebanyak 13 pemain, satu pelatih, satu wasit dan satu orang manajer akan I berang­katkan. Tim ini akan berangkat Jumat malam dengan mele­wati jalur darat membawa dua mobil pribadi,” kata Sekum PRSI Sum­bar, Maidison, ke­ma­rin.

Pemain-pemain yang di ba­wa adalah, M Guntur, San­sino, Afis Alamsyah, Anggi Darma Putra, Diky Anugrah, Azwan Risman, Irvan Ryandi, Edi Da­sra, M.Fikri dan M.Far­han.  ”Tiga orang lainnya yakni, No­vendra Deni, Adek Alfiandri dan Ilfan Riyandi akan me­nyusul karena ketiganya te­ngah me­ngikuti Pelatnas SEA Games.

Sedangkan untuk mengi­kuti Kejurnas U-17, kita memi­liki pemain pas-pasan, yaitu, M Fikri, Farhan, Gilang, Azwan Risma, Adek Alfiandri, San­sino dan M Guntur,” kata Maidison.

Meskipun memiliki keter­batasan dana, tim Sumbar akan berusaha semaksimal mungkin untuk memberikan hasil yang terbaik. ”Kami be­rangkat de­ngan dana yang minim, karena belum ada ban­tuan dari KONI. Kita maklum dengan kondisi KONI seka­rang, mudah-mu­dahan jika mereka sudah ada dana, KONI bisa membantu kita. Agar tetap bisa ikut serta, kami mengupayalan dana sendiri. Mudah-mudahan per­ma­sala­han ini tidak menghambat kita untuk meraih prestasi yang membanggakan,” harapnya.

Sementara, Pelatih polo air Sumbar, Peris AB mengaku terus melakukan persiapan pasca putaran I lalu. Meskipun hanya berlatih diluar kolam, ia mengaku anak asuhnya telah mengalami peningkatan. Ia berharap, semua pemainnya bermain semaksimal mungkin agar bisa meraih prestasi.

”Hingga saat ini kita masih terus menjalani latihan. Sete­lah putaran I lalu, kita tidak bisa latihan di kolam karena puasa. Meskipun demikian, anak-anak mengalami pening­katan di segi kondisi fisiknya. Untuk putaran II ini, kami ha­nya menambah satu pemain saja, yaitu M Far­han,” kata Peris.

Permasalahan yang ada sekarang adalah, pemain akan mengalami kelelahan karena menempuh perjalanan darat. “Kondisi pemain pasti menu­run saat pertandingan nanti. Saya akan minta pemain me­man­faatkan waktu untuk isti­rahat sebaik mungkin sebelum per­tan­dingan. Semua pemain pasti akan berupaya maksimal untuk memenangkan setiap per­tan­dingan,” ujar mantan pelatih timnas.  (padang ekspres)

15th FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Women: Day 5: ESP 9 USA 6

POLO AIR INDONESIA,  29 July 2013, It was the Olympic final all over again. This time the script had changed and Spain won instead of United States of America. Four times USA came within one goal of Spain, but that was it. Spain won 9-6 — a six-goal turnaround from the London Olympics just a year ago.

There was no Maggie Steffens five-goal haul but there was a Jennifer Pareja four-goal procession in the first half as Spain turned at 4-2, levelled the third quarter 1-1 and won the last 3-1. This was all about Spain, five times the bridesmaid and twice finishing level with USA in major competition, but never winning before tonight.

The landscape has changed and USA is no longer the dominant force of last year (many retirements), and slipping further from the bronze medal gained at the World League in Beijing a month ago.

The match was electric, mainly because of the Spanish surge, two Pareja goals making it 3-1. She scored either side of the first break, had four goals and saw her team 5-2 ahead.

Kameryn Craig, who scored three goals in a match where the USA centre forwards were stifled, scored USA’s third and Steffens pierced the goal on penalty to close the half at 5-4.

Maica Garcia, at the top of the third, and Melissa Seidemann four minutes later were the only scores of the period. The latter goal came off a rebound. Pareja had a fifth goal rejected but no fear, Garcia and Laura Lopez for a second goal each and Roser Tarrago on extra had the game sewn up by 0:39.

Craig scored vented her frustration with a great centre-forward goal inside the final half-minute for 9-6.

Spain was medal bound and USA will play in the round 5-8 for the second time in two years, finishing sixth to Australia in Shanghai.

The extra-man statistics belie the fact Spain actually converted one from seven and USA none from eight. That was some of the tightest defensive play of the championship and both sides have the scars to prove it.

15th FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Women: Day 5: ESP 9 USA 6

POLO AIR INDONESIA,  29 July 2013, It was the Olympic final all over again. This time the script had changed and Spain won instead of United States of America. Four times USA came within one goal of Spain, but that was it. Spain won 9-6 — a six-goal turnaround from the London Olympics just a year ago.

There was no Maggie Steffens five-goal haul but there was a Jennifer Pareja four-goal procession in the first half as Spain turned at 4-2, levelled the third quarter 1-1 and won the last 3-1. This was all about Spain, five times the bridesmaid and twice finishing level with USA in major competition, but never winning before tonight.

The landscape has changed and USA is no longer the dominant force of last year (many retirements), and slipping further from the bronze medal gained at the World League in Beijing a month ago.

The match was electric, mainly because of the Spanish surge, two Pareja goals making it 3-1. She scored either side of the first break, had four goals and saw her team 5-2 ahead.

Kameryn Craig, who scored three goals in a match where the USA centre forwards were stifled, scored USA’s third and Steffens pierced the goal on penalty to close the half at 5-4.

Maica Garcia, at the top of the third, and Melissa Seidemann four minutes later were the only scores of the period. The latter goal came off a rebound. Pareja had a fifth goal rejected but no fear, Garcia and Laura Lopez for a second goal each and Roser Tarrago on extra had the game sewn up by 0:39.

Craig scored vented her frustration with a great centre-forward goal inside the final half-minute for 9-6.

Spain was medal bound and USA will play in the round 5-8 for the second time in two years, finishing sixth to Australia in Shanghai.

The extra-man statistics belie the fact Spain actually converted one from seven and USA none from eight. That was some of the tightest defensive play of the championship and both sides have the scars to prove it.

15th FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Women, Day 5: Spain inflicts more pain on USA as Olympic champion bows out of medals

POLO AIR INDONESIA, 29 July 2013, For the second day in a row, Spanish water polo teams have bundled United States of America out of medal contention at the Bernat Picornell Pool. On Sunday, the men defeated USA 10-6 in a quarterfinal qualifier and tonight in a rematch of the 2012 London Olympic Games final, it was Spain’s turn to turn the tables on the USA, winning 9-6, vastly different from the USA’s 8-5 victory a year ago.

With half of Barcelona seemingly in the stands, they cheered on Jennifer Pareja and her team to what was an historic victory as Spain has never beaten USA in a major championship — drawing two and losing five.

Pareja scored her four goals in the first half as she helped her team to a 4-2 opening quarter, 5-4 at halftime and 6-5 at the final break. For more than a minute near the end the score was 8-5 ironically but that became a match-winning 9-5 and a late USA goal went in silence.

Spain will now meet Hungary in one semifinal while the other semifinal will be between Olympic bronze medallist Australia and the swift Russia.

Russia started the day’s proceedings with a 17-9 margin over Canada in which Ekaterina Prokofyeva captain Evgeniya Ivanova scored four each. Russia led 8-3 at halftime.

Australia won the second quarterfinal 9-5 over outgoing world champion Greece with goals being spread around by both teams. The Aussie Stingers led 4-2 at halftime and drew the third period 2-2.

The Hungary-Netherlands match was a statistical nightmare for the Dutch as Hungary won its 50th World Championship encounter — a record — by 11-7. Hungary led 7-1 at halftime in what was an obviously dominating display. Rita Keszthelyi scored four goals by halftime.

15th FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Women, Day 5: HUN 11 NED 7

POLO AIR INDONESIA, 29 July 2013, Shooting efficiency proved the killer punch as Hungary produced a stunning 7-1 opening half and finished 11-7 over Netherlands in the third quarterfinal at Bernat Picornell Pool this evening. Hungary became the second top-four team to make the semifinals after Australia earlier beat Greece.

The statistics say it all with Hungary shooting at 44 per cent with its 25 attempts. Netherlands, looking so nervous as the whistling of accurately fired yellow balls whipped past their heads on a regular basis, could manage just 21.9 percent from 32 shots. The Dutch could not say they didn’t have their chances.

Throw in another vital factor and the result spelt doom for the Dutch — Hungarian goalkeeper Flora Bolonyai made 15 saves compared with Ilse van der Meijden’s six.

The statistics keep coming. On the crucial extra-man-attack situations, Hungary converted five from eight and Netherlands two from nine.

While Hungary was hell bent on settling the result early, the Dutch were tentative and lacked punch. Why? When it came to the crunch at 9-4 down with just a quarter remaining, head coach Mauro Maugeri from Italy, must have found the light switch that shed light on the horrific situation.

Netherlands fired in three consecutive goals for 10-7, conceivably a chance of forcing the match to a draw… possibly.

The Dutch looked like the team of old with positive direction and two goals on extra. However, the dream died when Kata Menczinger scored on the deep left at 1:41. Both teams went to a timeout and that something unusual happened when van der Meijden decided she did not like being in goal and went to halfway to foul an opponent. Dora Antal said “thank you”, loaded the cannon and shot the ball down the pool into goal for 11-7 at 0:11.

In that 7-1 dash to the halftime drinks, Hungarian Rita Keszthelyi did her team proud, as she has all championship, with four goals to lift her tally to 16.
The one down point for Hungary, plus a plus for the Dutch, was the defence and almost shut-out, smothering defence of centre forward Barbara Bujka. She had hoped for some majors against her but Netherlands was determined that her threat would be nullified. Now, if only they did that to Keszthelyi!

More statistics? Sure! Hungary became the first nation to win 50 World Championship matches. Who’s second? Ironically, Netherlands with 46! The previous six meetings between the pair were decided by a one-goal margin or ended in a draw, so this was a quantum shift by comparison.

15th FINA World Championships 2013: Spain defeats Olympic champion USA to set eyes on gold medal at Barcelona 2013

POLO AIR 2013/07/29 23:09, Spain’s women’s water polo team has reached the semi-finals of the FINA World Championships for the first time in history, seeing off hot favorite and Olympic champion USA 9-6 in a memorable quarter-final at the Bernat Picornell Pool in Barcelona. It was the long-awaited revenge for the Olympic final in London. Spain’s next rival on Wednesday (21:45) is Hungary

Spain played an incredible first quarter in front of the home crowd, featuring an aggressive defense to recover the ball fast and fighting in the center positions to create dangerous attacks by team captain Jennifer Pareja. Goalkeeper Laura Ester, who played a brilliant game, explained the key to success in the mixed zone: “We came out to fight.”

Led by Pareja, who scored three goals in the first period, Spain dominated the game by the end of the first eight minutes: 4-2. At the beginning of the second quarter, Pareja added another goal to her name before the U.S. team started to fight back, scoring two fast consecutive goals. Coached by Miki Oca, the Olympic runner-up was able to take the advantage into halftime.

In the third period, with a great defense on both sides, the two teams only scored one goal each and Spain dominated the last quarter (3:1) to take home the victory on home turf as Laura López netted the 8-5. Pushed by the home crowd, Spain achieved an historic victory as they have never beaten USA in a major championship — drawing two and losing five.

“We were looking forward to this match,” said Ester. “They took away the gold medal from us in London and we did not want to go home without a medal here in Barcelona.” Her teammate Pareja has played the best game of the tournament so far. The team captain said that “the key was to play 100 percent from the first minute. We played the perfect game.”

The results of today’s quarter-finals were as follows:

Russia v. Canada: 17-9

Australia v. Greece: 9-5

Hungary v. Netherlands: 11-7

Fina World Championship 2013: Serbia going head to head with Montenegro in quarterfinals

POLO AIR INDONESIA, Serbia will face Montenegro in what will be a hotly  contested quarterfinal on Tuesday following the qualification round of  the FINA Men’s Water Polo World Championships at the Bernat Picornell Pool today. Serbia sent Romania packing for home with a 13-5 scoreline and Montenegro defeated Canada 12-4 to set up a tantalising encounter. 

The qualifiers were decisive, unlike the women’s matches the day before where European champion Italy and World League champion China departed the scene.

The other quarterfinals have Greece facing Hungary, Croatia against Australia and Spain playing Italy. Greece started the day’s proceedings with a 13-5 win over South Africa with Alexandros Gounas (GRE) topping the scorers.

Montenegro followed against Canada with Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE) netting three for 13 this championship. Centre forward Nicolas Constantin-Bicari (CAN) finished with eight goals and huge respect.

Olympic champion Croatia repulsed the challenge of New Zealand 21-4. Petar Muslim and Sandro Sukno scored five each for the Europeans. Spain helped United States of America to the airport with a 10-6 margin thanks to Albert Espanol with four goals and Guillermo Molina with three. The championship also saw the last of the talented centre forward John Mann (USA), who scored 10 goals.

Serbia settled for a 13-5 win over Romania with five Serbian players scoring twice and the match’s best Nicolae Diaconu (ROU). Hungary had to come back from 4-2 down at quarter time to send off Kazakhstan 16-7. Five Hungarians scored twice and Sergey Gubarev (KAZ) fired in three. Will this be the last we see of Sydney 2000 Olympic silver medallist Russian goalkeeper Nikolay Maximov (KAZ) at this level? He is 41, after all!

Italy, the London Olympics silver medallist, defeated China 11-3 with Alex Georgetti bagging four goals. Chufeng Zhang and Zhongxing Liang left as China’s best scorers with five each.

In the final match of the day, Australia downed Germany 8-4 with three players scoring twice for the Aussie Sharks. Heiko Nossek, who scored Germany’s first two goals, departs as his team’s leading scorer with 10.

Tuesday quarterfinal programme:

15:30  GRE     v          HUN              
17:00  CRO     v          AUS
20:15  MNE    v          SRB
21:45  ESP     v          ITA

Fina World Championship 2013: Champions China and Italy fail to make quarterfinals

POLO AIR INDONESIA, There can only be one winner and even champions have to fall by the wayside some time. This was the case during quarterfinal qualification matches on the fourth day of the FINA Women’s Water Polo World Championships at the Bernat Picornell Pool.

In the final match of the night, European champion Italy bowed out in controversial fashion, losing a penalty shootout 13-12 to world champion Greece.

China, fresh from a heroic World League Super Final victory in Beijing, was toppled by Netherlands, 2008 Olympic champion.In a must-win match for the Dutch women’s water polo programme, the women in orange emerged triumphant 11-10, a three-goal burst by Lieke Klaassen late in the match proving the difference. The hat-trick took her total to 16 for the championship, proving her worth to the team and the programme. A loss today could have had brutal ramifications back home.

In 2009, World League champion Montenegro arrived in Rome as the recently crowned king and also missed the top eight. The Dutch were in raptures, as if they had already won the title, while China struggled with the moment and will now head home to rethink their future.

The last match of the day also saw drama and excitement missing from some other encounters, as was the nature of this year’s championship where the bottom eight fly home halfway through. European champion Italy came from behind to lead in the final stages against Greece but the world champion levelled and forced the match to extra time. Both teams scored in the first period but not in the second. Italy missed three shots and Greece scored three for the victory.

The controversial part was where Roberta Bianconi failed to shot when the whistle sounded for the final shot, gifting the match to Greece.

Other matches went to form with Russia dispatching South Africa 22-3, Australia downing Uzbekistan 25-2, Spain bundling out New Zealand 18-6, Olympic champion United States of America beat Brazil 14-3, Canada defeated Kazakhstan 14-8 and Hungary had the better of Great Britain 14-5.

Most interest on Monday in quarterfinals, probably focuses on the clash between Olympic finalists USA and Spain.

Monday programme:

15:30 RUS vs CAN
17:00 AUS vs GRE
20:15 NED vs HUN
21:45 ESP vs USA 

FINA World Championships 2013: Spain stuns USA at Barcelona 2013 Water Polo tournament to reach quarter-finals

POLO AIR INDONESIA, Spain's men's national water polo team dominated the cross-group game against the USA at the Picornell Pool today, sending their American rivals home to secure a quarter-final berth. Coached by Rafa Aguilar, the Iberians won three of four quarters (4-2, 1-2, 2-1, 3-1) to claim a deserved 10-6 victory in front of the home crowd. Spain will face the winner between Italy and China in the Round of the last 8 on Tuesday

Under the eyes of the members of the Spanish Synchronised Swimming team that claimed seven medals at Barcelona 2013, the home team played more confident than in the group stage and showed a brilliant defensive performance from the start of the complicated encounter against the USA. The combination of a superb match of Spain’s goalkeeper Iñaki Aguilar, who prevented the opponent from fighting back in the second half on various occasions, and four goals of Albert Espanyol was sufficient to see off the American side.

“We dealt very well with the pressure today. We are ready to beat any team now and are going to give 100 percent against our next opponent,” said goalkeeper Aguilar after his impressive performance today.

Although the Americans scored to successive goals to get closer to Spain in the fourth period (6-7), the Iberians kept cool and netted three consecutive goals to close out the game. Guillermo Molina (3), Marc Minguell (1) and Espanyol scored the last three goals for the Spanish side.

“We have played the way we wanted. We just had to concentrate on our game and we have made it. If we play against Italy, it will be much more difficult because their system doesn´t fit us — they are very technical,” said Molina in the mixed zone.

It was the fourth win in a row for Spain over USA - 2010 FINA World Cup, 2011 FINA World Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games in London and today

FINA World Championships 2013: Centurions Hungary and Australia battle out draw in second-place decider

WATER POLO, 26 July 2013.

POLO AIR INDONESIA, The team with the highest winning record in Championship history was denied victory in its 100th match on the third day of the FINA Men’s Water Polo World Championships at the Bernat Picornell Pool.

It was the end of the group stage and Hungary was fighting Australia for second in Group C. It was the closest match of the championship with four tied periods and a man called Richard Campbell denying Hungary what was rightfully its to take.

However, by coincidence, it was also Australia’s 100th match at World Championship level and a draw with the country that has won more Olympic gold medals than anyone else (9), would have been unheard of some years ago.

Under the coaching of Croatia Olympic champion assistant coach Elvis Fatovic, the Aussie Sharks took the lead at 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 and then later levelled at 7-7, 8-8 and 9-9. Campbell featured with five of those goals, including his fifth from the 10m line!

Hungarian head coach Tibor Benedek was happy with the draw that needed delving into the rule book and shovel down to the fourth tie-break rule to find out who gains second place. Serbia won the group with a 16-9 defeat of China.

In Group A, the main match was the group decider between Spain and Greece — the last match of the day. Spain disappointed the near-capacity crowd when bowing 8-7 after playing catch-up water polo for three-quarters of the match. Montenegro had earlier beaten New Zealand for four points and what turned out to be second place.

In Group B action, Croatia topped the quartet with an 18-0 romp over South Africa who had a goal disallowed in the final six seconds. United States of America had the better of Canada for second place, winning 8-7.

Italy swam away with Group D in defeating Kazakhstan 12-6 and Germany battled to a 9-8 thriller over winless Romania.

Final points:

Group A: GRE 6, MNE 4, ESP 2, NZL 0.
Group B: CRO 6, USA 4, CAN 2, RSA 0.
Group C: SRB 6, HUN 3, AUS 3, CHN 0.
Group D: ITA 6, GER 4, KAZ 2, ROU 0.

Quarterfinal qualifiers:

Sunday, July 28 (times to be decided):
GRE vs RSA
MNE vs CAN
CRO vs NZL
USA vs ESP
SRB vs ROU
HUN vs KAZ
ITA vs CHN
GER vs AUS

FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Men: Day 3. USA 8 CAN 7

POLO AIR INDONESIA, The incredible North American rivalry between the United States and Canada continued in Barcelona with the USA winning 8-7 and taking second place in Group B. Canada was on the verge of levelling the game when the wing player inexplicably did not shoot for goal, instead passing to the far side of the pool as fulltime sounded.

Canada won the final quarter 4-3 and looked the better team but the gap appeared too much to bridge.

USA started strongly with two Alexander Bowen goals, followed by Canada’s Jared McElroy’s pair, the second a slider on extra-man advantage. The high-performing John Mann scored the only goal of the second quarter, giving USA a one-goal lead at the major break.

Bowen and Mann stretched the margin to 5-2 within three minutes of the second half. Canada replied through Nicolas Constantin-Bicari on counter, receiving a huge pass, rolling over and sending the ball over the head of Merrill Moses.

McElroy scored on the first attack of the fourth and the game was electric. Matthew De Trane and left-hander Janson Wigo took it out to 7-4 only for John Conway on a short drive and Constantin Kudaba, with a six-metre bounce shot, closing the gap.

USA captain Tony Azevedo made a rare appearance to the scoresheet with a penalty conversion. Canada went to a timeout with no joy, USA had a shot blocked and then Kevin Graham scored from the deep right at 0:50. It proved to be the last goal.

It was the sixth victory for USA over Canada at World Championships.

FINA World Championships 2013:Water Polo Men: Day 3: GER 9 ROU 8

POLO AIR INDONESIA, Germany held out a fast-finishing Romania 9-8 for second place in Group D, leaving the Romanians winless at the end of the preliminary round. Germany had the game intact at 7-3 by halftime before the Romanians found some symmetry within the team.

Petru Ianc found himself free at the from, had his first shot spat back at him by Morita Schenkel and then scored for 7-4 three minutes into the third period. Andrei Busila scored after the extra-man 20 seconds for 7-5. Paul Schueler responded for 8-5 from the top to close the third.

Dennis Eidner emerged as a star with three goals. He scored on extra-man attack in the opening quarter, snapped in a shot on rebound in the second and produced one of the goals of the championship when he accepted a cross pass from his left at centre forward, took the ball cleanly above the water, turned his wrist and right-back-handed the ball into goal for 9-5.

Romania was not finished and Ianc thundered a shot under the right arm of the goalkeeper; Andrei Busila scored cross cage at 3:19 and Alexandru Ghiban was free on a short drive, accepted a pass and scored at  2:33 for 9-8. The game was alive, big time.

Germany had trouble getting past Romanian goalkeeper Dragos Stoenescu and in the final stages Romania had three chances to score, losing the ball twice and Ghiban inexplicably not taking a shot with the final attempt, attempting to gain a 5m foul, but instead waiting for a defender to steal the ball, which he did. Any chance of a draw was expunged.

Romanian head coach Vlad Hagiu appealed for some minutes after the match to the referee but it was clearly a bad mistake by the player.

It was Germany’s sixth consecutive victory against Romania since losing in the 2006 World League.

FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Men: Day 3: ITA 12 KAZ 6

POLO AIR INDONESIA, Unbeaten Italy won Group D, turning a 6-2 halftime lead into a 12-6 victory over Kazakhstan, a team it has now beaten seven times on the elite world stage. Five of those appearances Italy won with 13 goals so the average has changed little against a team that went into the match with a win against Romania and a one-goal loss to Germany.

Italy held sway in the opening stages and led 4-0, thanks to a pair of goals by centre forward Matteo Aicardi and master blaster Pietro Figlioli.

Kazakhstan improved it to 5-2 midway through the second quarter and 7-3 by the final break. Figlioli, probably the fastest swimmer and hardest shooter in world water polo, scored his fourth goal and seventh for the championship at 11-4, just before Anton Koliadenko scored twice inside the last four minutes.

The coup de grace was delivered by Valentino Gallo with his second from five attempts a 10:54 for 12-6.

Alex Georgetti was in fine touch with a goal either side of the final break to go with his strike in the second quarter

FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Men: Day 3: HUN 9 AUS 9

POLO AIR INDONESIA, Officials had to drag out the rule book to decide the real winner between Hungary and Australia in their 9-9 encounter before deciding Hungary won second place in Group B on a fourth tie-break.

What a match this was — the 100th World Championship match for each team —with no team being separated in the four quarters. Probably what did separate the teams was the extra-man-attack situation where Hungary converted five from seven. The Aussie Sharks managed three from three, only the second time this tournament that a team has done 100 percent, following China’s four from four this morning.

The tiebreak rule states: 1. Points. 2. The result between the two. 3. The losing goal difference against the group winner, Serbia (3 each). 4. Who scored more goals against Serbia (HUN 10, AUS 9). No need for the flip of a coin.

Where Hungary nearly lost the match was not being able to control the firepower and accuracy of Richie Campbell. His five goals were all immaculate, especially his missiles from downtown. His fourth goal came off the near post on extra while heavily defended. That brought up 8-8.

After Marton Vamos appeared to seal the match at 9-8, it was Campbell who stood up to the plate and unleashed a 10m shot that stunned the crowd, let alone Hungary — 9-9 at 1:57. Hungary had chances to close the match, to no effect.

Despite Campbell’s supremacy, he will probably rue the shot that he missed, the three-on-one attempt that found the left arm of Attila Decker, who played exceptionally well with 11 saves, many in the first half.

Australia will also rue the missed penalty shot by captain Rhys Howden, but then Decker was in scintillating form.

Hungary is still young, still to gel, and needs time. This is the sort of pressure it thrives on.

Daniel Varga, back from injury, scored his second goal, Balasz Harai was dangerous and centre forward with his long arms and legs; Denes Varga scored from 8m and then with a sweet centre-forward shot for the go ahead goal at the start of the fourth period.

Hungary will be hoping not to meet a Campbell again at these championships.
Some consolation for Hungary with the 100th clash was that it has now been unbeaten in 74 matches at these championships — a record.

FINA World Championships 2013: Water Polo Men: Day 3: SRB 16 CHN 9

POLO AIR INDONESIA, Serbia walked into the next round with three victories, beating a stubborn China 16-9 in their Group C encounter. While Serbia would be expected to win comfortably, Rick Azevedo, China’s coach from the USA, seems have steeled the team into a more cohesive unit, utilising its tremendous firepower.

China worked hard until the end of the game, especially against such a powerful team like Serbia. China’s brand of water polo is infectious, as different as it is from Serbia’s.

The man with the new baby, Filip Filipovic, opened the scoring and Serbia led 4-1 at the quarter break. It could have been higher is Dusan Mandic had not had his penalty attempt blocked by Honghui Wu.

Each time Serbia took a two-goal margin in the second period, China hit back until Dusko Pijetlovic scored the first of his three goals just before Halftime for 8-5.
This stretched to 11-5 early in the third quarter, then became 11-7and the n 13-8 by the final break.

Pijetlovic’s goal from wide on the two-metre line after a centre-forward drift, was excellent. He scored Serbia’s 14th goal and the match rounded out to 16-9, a good result for both teams.

Serbia has won six of seven matches against China, only losing a World League encounter in 2010 — Serbia’s biggest international defeat at 17-4. Serbia went on to win the World League that year, beating Montenegro in the final.

FINA World Championships 2013: Filipovic flips head over heels at baby’s birth

POLO AIR INDONESIA-Having a child is a wonderful sensation. Beating Hungary at men’s water polo is equally as exciting. Doing both at the same time must be unheard of in this amazing sport. Filip Filipovic (26) has achieved so much in his short life but as one of the world’s most decorated water polo athletes, he topped it all as wife Sanya gave birth to a son — Vuk — while he was helping Serbia defeat Hungary 13-10 in a Group C match at the Bernat Picornell Pool. 

It was the second day of competition and the match was for group supremacy, so Filipovic’s celebrations will be doubled. After the match he raced to his mobile phone to call his wife. Crying, he said after the call:  “I have left this game a true winner as I am now a father. Sorry, this is a very emotional moment for me.” He said his parents in the grandstands informed him of the birth during the third quarter. He will stay in Spain for the duration of the championships.

The match had everything from controversy to a change in fortunes and late charge by Hungary. Marton Szivos had his long-range goal originally disallowed, but after a howl from the huge crowd, the decision was reversed, only for the goal to be awarded to a teammate.

Hungary will now play Australia on Friday for second place in the group after Australia defeated China 9-7.

In Group B action, United States of America beat South Africa 16-3 and Croatia had to work for a 13-8 victory over Canada.

In Group A, Greece gained a second win with a 24-4 win over New Zealand and Montenegro rained on Spain’s parade with a 7-5 victory.

In Group D, Kazakhstan reversed its fortunes against Romania with a 7-4 victory and Italy slowed down after an 8-2 lead to defeat Germany 10-8.

Points after day one:

Group A: GRE 4, MNE 2, ESP 2, NZL 0.
Group B: CRO 4, USA 2, CAN 2, RSA 0.
Group C: SRB 4, HUN 2, AUS 2, CHN 0.
Group D: ITA 4, GER 2, KAZ 2, ROU 0.

MEDALS TABLE (25/7)

NF	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
CHN	5	3	2	10
RUS	4	2	-	6
BRA	1	2	1	4
GER	1	1	2	4
TUN	1	-	1	2
GRE	1	-	-	1
USA	1	-	-	1
CAN	-	2	1	3
ITA	-	2	-	2
ESP	-	1	3	4
UKR	-	1	1	2
MEX	-	-	2	2
MAS	-	-	1	1
TOTAL	14	14	14	42

FINA World Championships 2013: World League champion China rumbled by Australia

POLO AIR INDONESIA-As Olympic bronze medallist it might be said that Australia would never cause an upset, but this is what transpired in day-two action at the FINA Women’s Water Polo World Championships at the Bernat Picornell Pool.

Australia came back from 5-4 down to thrash recently crowned FINA World League champion China 14-5 in what was a display of pressure defence, power shooting and general aggression.

The all-round effort made everyone sit up while a dejected China, a day-one winner over South Africa, will now shoot for second spot in Group B. Australia now needs to defeat South Africa, who lost to New Zealand 14-7 in the day’s first match, to win the group.

In Group A action in the evening, Netherlands posted a world record 30-3 win over Uzbekistan, who were also part of the previous record. Host Spain, the Olympic silver medallist, fell to Russia 7-6 who have two wins in what is one of the toughest two groups.

In Group C, star centre forward Alexandra Asimaki steered Greece to a 13-7 victory over Great Britain, scoring five goals. The United States of America gained a second win with a 10-8 win over neighbour Canada despite allowing Canada to score five of the last six goals.

In Group D, Kazakhstan gained a first win, defeating Brazil 9-5. Hungary then made progression in the tournament harder for Italy with a 10-4 margin. Rita Keszthelyi added four more goals to her five from the opening day and Barbara Bujka scored four for a total of seven.

Points after day two:

Group A: RUS 4, ESP 2, NED 2, UZB 0.
Group B: AUS 4, CHN 2, NZL 2, RSA 0.
Group C: USA 4, CAN 2, GRE 2, GBR 0.
Group D: HUN 4, KAZ 2, ITA 2, BRA 0.

MEDALS TABLE

NF	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
CHN	5	2	2	9
RUS	3	2	-	5
BRA	1	2	1	4
GER	1	1	2	4
TUN	1	-	1	2
GRE	1	-	-	1
USA	1	-	-	1
CAN	-	2	1	3
ITA	-	2	-	2
ESP	-	1	2	3
UKR	-	1	1	2
MEX	-	-	2	2
MAS	-	-	1	1
TOTAL	13	13	13	39

FINA World Championships 2013: Greece opens men's water polo with stunning upset over Montenegro

POLO AIR INDONESIA-Greece turned on the action tap and caused a huge upset in the opening match with a deluge of early goals against Montenegro for a 6-4 victory in the FINA Men's Water Polo World Championships at the Bernat Picornell Pool.

Just two weeks ago when the teams met in a four-nation tournament, world No 4 Montenegro thrashed Greece 11-4, but today it was all Greece as Montenegro was kept scoreless for the first half and gained two consolation goals in the final minute.

In the other Group A match, Spain defeated New Zealand 18-3 in the final encounter of the day with Felipe Perrone scoring five goals, the best of the day.

In Group B action, Croatia beat United States of America 9-7 and Canada outlasted South Africa 17-11.

In Group C, Serbia proved too strong for Australia, winning 10-7 and Hungary put away China 13-5 with an excellent display of poise and power.

In Group D, Italy started strongly and cruised home 9-4 over Romania, while Germany saw a 9-4 three-quarter-time lead diminished to 9-8 by fulltime against Kazakhstan.

Points after day one:

Group A: ESP 2, GRE 2, MNE 0, NZL 0.
Group B: CAN 2, CRO 9, USA 0, RSA 0.
Group C: HUN 2, SRB 2, AUS 0, CHN 0.
Group D: ITA 2, GER 2, KAZ 0, ROU 0

MEDALS TABLE

NF	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
CHN	3	2	1	6
RUS	3	1	0	4
GER	1	1	1	3
TUN	1	-	1	2
GRE	1	-	-	1
USA	1	-	-	1
CAN	-	2	1	3
ESP	-	1	2	3
BRA	-	1	1	2
UKR	-	1	1	2
ITA	-	1	-	1
MAS	-	-	1	1
MEX	-	-	1	1
TOTAL	10	10	10	30