2nd Asian University Water Polo Championship: Update

SINGAPORE – On June 17^th, Day 4 of the event, the morning games were initiated by a match between NUS and Indonesia. This was an important match for both teams as the final results will contribute directly to the league points and ranks. The game started fiercely with Indonesia taking the lead, leaving a gap of 3 points. However, NUS failed to seize the opportunity and the goal difference increased subsequently, thus, ending the game with Indonesia winning by 12 – 7.

The next match was between Korea and Philippines. Korea is at the top of the league while Philippines was still unable to gain any league points so far. It was no surprise that Korea won the match easily at a final score of 37 – 0.

The last match in the morning saw a fierce battle between NTU and Thailand. It was a very close game with each team tied at almost every quarter. However, Thailand picked up speed and ended the game with a score of 18 – 13.

NUS and Malaysia took centre stage next. It was an aggressive match with both teams clearly fighting to take control of the game. However, given the speed and better coordination within the NUS team, the game ended with 9 – 1 to NUS.

The next game was between NTU and Indonesia. Indonesia dominated the whole game, leaving NTU little opportunities to break their defense. Nevertheless, NTU showed some impressive attacks that threatened their opponent. The final score was 20 – 9 to Indonesia.

The final game of the night was between Korea and Thailand. Even though both teams are strong contenders in the competition, it was disappointing to see Thailand allowing the Koreans to dominate the match. Thailand’s score remained at nil, until the 2^nd half of the game where they picked up speed and managed to score some goals. The game ended with a final score of 26 – 4 to Korea.

Day 5

Yesterday, June 18^th, was the final round robin round in the tournament and the level of competition was extremely high.

The first match of the day started with the team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the combined university team from Philippines. Both teams put up their best fight with NTU taking the lead. The game ended with a final score of 16 – 3.

The next match was one of the important matches that would determine the final rankings on the table – Indonesia vs. Malaysia. The game started fiercely and very close with the Malaysians returning the attacks from Indonesia. However, the Indonesians proved to be more superior as they picked up the pace of the game and left the Malaysian team little opportunities to break through. The game ended with a final score of 10 – 2, putting Indonesia straight into the Gold Medal Playoffs against Korea.

The final match of the round robin was between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Kasetsart University from Thailand. At this moment, NUS has already gained their position in the Bronze Medal Playoffs following Indonesia’s win against Malaysia. As such, Thailand had to put up a bigger fight to win the match to qualify for the Bronze medal playoffs. The game started fairly close with NUS leading only by one goal, before leading by 8 goals by the second quarter. NUS dominated through, and won the match with a score of 21 – 9.

With all the matches played, NUS will be playing against Malaysia at the Bronze medal playoffs while we will see the battle between two power houses Indonesia and Korea in the Gold medal playoffs.

2^nd Team Manager’s Meeting

At 9: 30 p.m., after all the competition, the 2^nd team manger’s meeting was held, briefing the protocol of Closing Ceremony and the arrangement to Sentosa, a famous tour resort in Singapore.

The finals will be held today afternoon, starting at 4: 00 p.m. local time. The Awarding and Closing Ceremony will be held immediately after the finals.

(Source: Mahrunisa Fathiyah, OC)