2nd Asian University Water Polo Championship

Host Singapore marches in

SINGAPORE – On June 14^th, the 2^nd Asian University Water Polo Championships was officially opened by a simple yet lively Opening Ceremony which was graced by the presence of AUSF Vice-President and President of the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation, Dr. Chen Kun Ning and AUSF General Coordinator Laura YAN. It was attended by all the participating teams, accompanied by guests from the Singapore University Sports Council, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Swimming Association.

In the welcome speech by Mr. SEETOW Cheng Fave, the OC President and AUSF Treasurer, said “Sport is an effective platform to forge relationship and lasting friendships. Matches will be won and lost but friendship across the Asian countries will be strengthened.” Also, he expressed the gratitude to both AUSF and Singapore Swimming Association for their strong support. AUSF Vice President Chen Kunning delivered a speech on behalf of AUSF. He said “AUSF will go a long way towards further development of water polo Asian wide. AUSF thanks you for your participation. We believe that this championship will play a very important role to bring together young players from different parts of Asia, make a better understanding among each other and upgrade the technical standards of water polo”. After the speeches, Dr. Chen presented an AUSF souvenir to Mr. SEETOW, showing the gratitude.

Chen Kun Ning receives a souvenir from Seetow Cheng FaveThe Opening Match

The opening match of the tournament was between the host, National University of Singapore (NUS) and the combined university team from the Philippines. NUS who emerged as second runner ups at the last championships dominated the match with little problem as our friends from the Philippines fought hard to strengthen their defense. The game ended with 30 – 2 to NUS.

The excitement of the tournament picked up when power houses Malaysia and Thailand played during the second match. The anxiety and stress of the game could clearly be seen from the faces and voices of the Head Coaches from both teams. After much fight, Malaysian emerged as winners with 9 against Thailand’s 7 goals.

The last match of the day saw the prowess of players from the Korea National Sports University (KNSU), against Nanyang Technological University (NTU) from Singapore. Korea took dominance from the start giving little room for NTU to break their defence. The match ended with the final score 35 – 0 to Korea. KNSU team won the 2^nd place in the 1^st edition of this championship.

Day 2

The second day of the tournament, June 15^th, started on a high with Universitas Negri Jakarta, Indonesia making their debut in the tournament against Kasetsart University from Thailand. Both spectators and players were seen sitting at the edge of their seats trying to keep up with the pace of the match. The game ended with both teams tied at 10 goals.

The following match was between National University of Singapore and Korea National Sports University – both teams were podium finishers at the last Championships in 2010. NUS took Korea by surprise when they scored the first goal. Both teams showed great teamwork and skills, and ended the game with 12 – 4 to Korea.

Malaysia played against Philippines in the final match of the day. With the young Philippines team, there was a clear distinction between the two teams with the Malaysian team dominating the whole game. The match ended with a final score of 33 – 4.

Day 3

Six matches were played totally in the morning and evening session of June 16th.

NUS vs. NTU

The first match started bright and early in the morning between National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University also from Singapore. These two local teams meet face-to-face again this year and NUS took the lead, dominating most of the game. The final score was 23 – 5 to NUS.

Philippines vs. Indonesia

Philippines and Indonesia took centre stage next where Indonesia took control of the game as predicted. The Philippines team, however, clearly have made great improvements in their game play and attempted far more attacks since their first match. Indonesia won the game 31 – 2.

Malaysia vs. Korea

The morning games ended with a match between Malaysia and Korea. Players from both team showed great team spirit even as the sun was beginning to take a toll on them. However, Korea’s stamina and skills overwhelmed their opponent, ending the game at 19 – 3 to Korea.

Philippines vs. Thailand

The tournament then took a rest in the afternoon before Philippines played their second match of the day against Thailand, a strong contender in the competition. Albeit suffering from fatigue from their earlier match, Philippines persevered to hold their fort with some opportunities of attacks. The game ended with a final score of 24 to 1. Thailand won.

Korea vs. Indonesia

The next game between Korea and Indonesia was the game to watch. Both of them were quite strong. Indonesia has proved their prowess in their previous two games, and was certainly looking forward to give the Koreans a run for their goals. After a series of fierce attacks, defenses and even an ejection from each team, the game ended in favor of Korea at 16 – 9.

Malaysia vs. NTU

The night closed with a match between Malaysia and Nanyang Technological University, from Singapore. Although this was both their second match for the day, both teams appeared strong for the first half of the game as they continued to break each other’s defense and take shots. However, Malaysia was seen to dominate Singapore and won the match 14 – 6.  

(Source: Mahrunisa Fathiyah, OC)