Traditional water polo powerhouse Hungary confirmed its status among the favourites for gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by defeating Italy 10-8 in the final of the men’s Olympic qualification tournament on Sunday (10 April) in Trieste, Italy.

Spain beat France 16-4 to claim the bronze medal and the top four teams all secured their spots in Rio, joining Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Japan, Montenegro, Serbia and the USA. Croatia are the defending Olympic champions, while Italy and Serbia took silver and bronze at the London 2012 Games.

“I’m satisfied to beat Italy in Trieste. Now we want to win the Olympic Games”

Daniel Varga, Hungary captain

While the crucial matches in terms of qualification were the quarter-finals in Trieste, the final placements decided the seedings for the draw, which took place on Sunday (see below for details). Hungary had defeated Germany in the tightly-contested quarter-finals, while Spain saw off Canada, Italy overcame Romania and France beat the Netherlands in a shoot-out.  

Hungary are the most successful nation in the men’s water polo event at the Olympic Games, with nine gold medals, including a hat-trick of triumphs at the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games. On their way to gold in Melbourne in 1956, they defeated the Soviet Union 4-0 in the infamous 'Blood in the Water' match.

Become a water polo expert with our interactive infographic

Hungary want to return to the top in Rio after finishing fifth in London (Photo: Deepbluemedia/Giorgio Scala)

The draws for the men’s and women’s Olympic tournaments were held after the action in Trieste. In the men’s competition, the 12 teams have been distributed in two groups. Serbia, Greece, Brazil, Australia, Japan and Hungary form Group A, while Group B consists of the USA, Spain, France, Montenegro, Italy and Croatia.

Each group will play a round-robin, with the four highest ranked teams in each group progressing to the quarter-finals. The fifth and sixth ranked teams in each group will be eliminated.

“Every single match will be very important in the Olympic Games. We will have to be stronger than we are in an ordinary tournament”

Roger Tahull, Spanish water polo player

In the women’s event in Rio, eight teams will compete. Italy, Russia, Australia and Brazil will play in Group A, while Spain, China, Hungary and the USA will form Group B. All the teams will progress to the knock-out stage, with the group rankings deciding who plays who.

See the full details of the draw and Olympic tournament format

The USA won the gold medal in the London 2012 Olympic Games, ahead of Spain and Australia. Russia, Spain, the USA and Italy booked the final three places at Rio 2016 in dramatic fashion last month.

Matches will take place at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre and the brand new Olympics Aquatics Stadium, which was inaugurated on Friday (8 April).

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
 

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.