Last year, the swimmer was named Hungarian Male Athlete of the Year after winning the gold medal in the 200m backstroke at the Paris Olympics.Continue reading
The Hungarian women’s water polo team finished second in the World Cup Super Final in Chengdu, where Sándor Cseh’s team lost 13-9 to Greece in Sunday’s final. The Hungarian team won the silver medal for the second time in the series since 1988, winning once before, in 2002.
The first quarter was very eventful, with 19 shots being attempted, the Greeks scored five times, the Hungarians four, while Boglárka Neszmély saved her first five-meter shot of the tournament.
In the second half of the game, the Hungarians were stuck on offense, unable to find a counter to their rival’s defense, and several times the offensive time ran out without a shot. At the beginning of the third quarter, Leimeter broke the long Hungarian scoring drought, but the Greeks extended their lead to three goals (8-5) with two quick hits.
Despite the Hungarian team closing the gap, the Greeks again scored two goals in quick succession, with Torma replacing Neszmély in goal. Garda came up with a bomb, but the Hungarian substitute was quickly “unlocked”. The Greeks scored again at the end of the quarter, so they had a comfortable lead going into the last eight minutes (12-7). The final eight minutes brought no more excitement, with the Greeks triumphing by four goals.
Today was the end of the first part of the cycle, and I must say that the girls have given their best in the last months, both in training and in matches,”
said Sándor Cseh, captain of the team.
“Today we felt that we were tired in our heads, everything we touched did not work, neither in front nor behind. Of course the Greeks came to the final in similar circumstances, after traveling and three games, yet somehow they looked more composed and sharp today. I felt already in the middle of the first quarter that today was not going to be like the previous two days, everything slipped a bit, we did not vibrate as much, I saw little chance to get back on track. But I have always said that for a team to win something big, it is always through a quarter-final-semi-final-final trio, you have to learn how to be stable individually and as a team for the last day and then you have a chance to win the final.
And that is how I closed today’s match, because although it feels bad to lose a final, I feel that the girls, me and the staff benefited from this little slap in the face, because we can draw a lot of motivation from this for the next six months, a year, a year and a half,”
stressed the team captain.
Behind Greece and Hungary, the Netherlands finished third.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Pixabay