Water polo players said goodbye to the Olympics

Russian water polo players lost in the quarterfinals

Rustam Sharafutdinov (London) close 100%

The Russian women's water polo team dropped out of the Olympic Games, losing to the Hungarian team in the quarter finals. Alexander Kabanov's team managed to catch up with their opponents in the last quarter, but they took better advantage of their chances.

Having lost to the Australians at the preliminary stage, Alexander Kabanov ’s team advanced to the quarter finals against the Hungarian team, which was weaker than Spain and the USA in its group. However, in the playoffs, the opponents, as a rule, change: it was not for nothing that our experienced coach said after the first match with Great Britain that the most important match is at this stage. Victory opens the way to medals, and defeat opens the way to infamy.

The Hungarian national team, like Russia, won a ticket to the Olympics following the results of the qualifying tournament, which took place in April in Trieste, Italy. Moreover, we had a chance to play with the Hungarians - in the match for third place they were beaten with a score of 18:13.

At the beginning of the game, it was the Russians who seized the initiative, leading 2:0 - Evgenia Ivanova converted the extra one, and a minute later Nadezhda Fedotova increased the score. However, we also quickly lost our advantage, conceding two goals, one from Dora Antal from the penalty spot.

The Russians failed to win the quarter – after Ekaterina Lisunova’s counterattack goal, the Hungarians were sent off within 45 seconds.

In the second quarter, Kabanov's team were unable to convert. And the Hungarians took the lead with two goals and successfully maintained their advantage. Their defense acted more tenaciously, which did not allow the Russian attacker to do anything.

The Russians' problems in attack did not go away in the third quarter, despite how many times by that time Kabanov's charges had hit the posts and crossbar. It’s good that they didn’t give their opponents a chance to score, but took advantage of their own after Rita Kesheli was sent off – Ekaterina Lisunova scored. And soon they managed to even the score.

Ekaterina Prokofieva skillfully overthrew the goalkeeper, finally bringing out the Russian fans, who had long been overshadowed by the Hungarians sitting in the stands.

The chase for the Hungarians continued in the final quarter after Ildiko Toth made a successful shot from the central zone. The Russians barely fought back after Evgenia Khokhryakova was sent off, and in the next attack they almost scored the ball into their own goal. Urged on by their colorful coach, the Hungarians finally carried out the decisive attack 2.5 minutes before the end of the match - and it was a long-range shot. The two-goal difference had to be reduced as soon as possible.

The Russians managed to fight back after Alexandra Antonova was sent off, but after a throw from their opponents, the ball that bounced off the crossbar was picked up by Antal, who pushed it into the goal. In the retaliatory attack, the rules were violated on our athlete, and Belyaeva, who replaced Antonova at the point, played one goal back.

The last 13 seconds were marked by deletions; the Russians brought out a player to shoot, whose point-blank shot was repelled. The finishing goal came after the end of time. The Russians finished the tournament with 10:11.

You can find other materials, news and statistics on the 2012 Olympics page .

Water polo players said goodbye to the Olympics - Gazeta.Ru