Water polo team succumbs 6-4 to superior Canadians
Greece’s extremely promising beginning at the Women’s Water Polo World Cup in Perth, Australia- an 8-8 draw against world champion Italy on Tuesday – was dealt a setback yesterday by a 6-4 loss against Canada, last year’s bronze medalist at the World Championships. The national team opened up the scoring and led 2-1 early on, but, ultimately, the Canadians proved a stronger side. In its next game, today, the Greek team meets Russia, the bronze medalist at the Sydney Olympics. «The encounter against bronze medalist Russia, a team that bases its play on defensive strategy, wil be tough,» said coach Fondas Moudatsios. A win against the Russians would guarantee Greece a place among the top six, and more importantly, the opportunity to vie for fifth place, and a berth at next year’s World Championships. The top five-placed advance without qualifiers. While noting that the competition was strong overall, Greek team member Evi Moraitidou said that no teams were invincible for the national team’s standards. «We’re not aiming for top spot, but are dealing with each game separately,» Moraitidou said. In the group’s other game yesterday, Italy defeated Russia, 10-8. Italy is placed first with three points, Russia and Canada are tied in second place with two points apiece, and Greece is fourth with one point. In the other group, the USA thrashed Kazakhstan 11-1, while Hungary upset the host team 7-3. The USA and Hungary share first place with three points, Australia follows with two points and Kazakhstan is last, with no points.
