Serbia Defeats All and Faces China Next
The hosting team of the water polo World League Super Final, Serbia, was still undefeated after winning again on Thursday. They were facing Australia, the underdogs that had just recently stunned Croatia, last year’s second place at the tournament. The crowd was simply overjoyed that their team, the No. 1 in the Group B (which contained South Africa, Croatia, and Australia) had managed yet another victory with a 8 – 6 score.
While Australia had been just below Serbia in the rankings of the Group B, they were unable to defeat the hosting team. It was an upsetting defeat for the Australian Sharks, who were convinced that with talented players such as Samuel McGregor and Robert Maitland, who were both playing for the Australian team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, they would be able to win.
Aussies can't overcome determined hosts
But even their skills was not enough to defeat this year’s hosts, who were determined to defeat all the teams that are in the trajectory of their ascension to the podium; a goal at which they have been very successful so far. Their next opponent, China, hasn't won since the beginning of the week. This guarantees a somewhat easier confrontation than the ones the Serbs had to face in the tournament.
The biggest threat on the Chinese team is Li Bin, the Chinese national team player who participated at the 2006 Asian Games, and returned home with a gold medal. He also competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing 12th along with his teammates. All the teams that have faced China, however, such as Spain and Montenegro, were quite successful at finding their weaknesses. That would make a Chinese victory over the powerhouse Serbians a huge upset.
A tough week, and a significant victory
It was a difficult week for the Serbs, who had just managed a thrilling 9-8 victory against Croatia. The win was significant, particularly in the front of the home crowd, as many Serbian players had to play for the Croatian side before Serbia formed its own water polo team. As such, many Croatian victories were largely due to its Serbian players, which did not have the chance to compete for their own nation. While Serbia did not crush the Croats with an embarrassing score, they still managed to avenge themselves for being on the last step of the podium last year, watching the Croats ranking second, and Montenegro finishing first.
Plus, there was a breeze of Serbian patriotism that had been felt during the water polo world prior to the competition, which greatly fuelled Serbia with confidence both inside and outside of the pool. Vanja Udovicic , the Serbian patriotic hero, started to play defense for the Pro Recco, an Italian club in 2007. Meanwhile, he was part of the Serbian national team, and won the World Championship in 2009 and 2005, the European gold medal in 2003 and 2006, and the Olympic silver medal in 2004.
Last June, however, the Italian club decided to put a stop to his overseas activities. The Pro Recco club’s leadership gave an ultimatum to Serb: either to leave the Italian club or to play within the Italian national team for the international events. Udovicic had become good enough that he would have been a star for the Italians but he had other ideas. The Serb sternly refused, which as a result terminated his contract with the Italian club.
While the Chinese are on the brink of elimination for the upcoming match, Serbia is confidently waiting for the match with the shared joy of the crowd. The Serbs are expected to reach the semi-finals, Saturday without any problem.
Tags: