Russia win Olympic place on penalties as women’s water polo line-up is confirmed
Olympic and world champions the USA and fellow heavyweights Spain and Italy also book their places at Rio 2016 Games
Joy and despair: Russia and Greece react at different stages of their shoot-out (Fina)
Another competition line-up has been confirmed for the Rio 2016 Games. Following in the recent footsteps of equestrian, handball, women’s football and hockey, the teams that will compete for Olympic medals in the women’s water polo tournament this August are now known.
The USA, Russia, Italy and Spain won the final four places at the Olympic qualifying tournament in the Dutch city of Gouda, as confirmed by FINA, aquatic sport's world governing body. They join Brazil, Australia, China and Hungary in the final line-up for the Olympic Games.
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The last four slots were decided at the weekend, when the quarter-finals were completed, as the top four teams from the qualifier earn places at the Rio 2016 Games. The most dramatic game was Russia v Greece, in which the Russians tied the scores at 10-10 with 4.4 seconds remaining. Russia goalkeeper Anna Ustyukhina then stopped three shots in the penalty shoot-out as her side won 3-2, leaving the Greeks in floods of tears and out of the Olympic Games.
“We feel really sorry for Greece, they deserved to go to Rio too. But we proved that our team is good enough to go to the Olympics”
Russia coach Andrei Belofastov
Twelve teams competed for the final four Olympic places in Gouda (Photos: FINA/DeepBlueMedia)
The Italians also had to fight hard for their place in Rio, holding off a Canadian fight-back to triumph 8-7. Italy captain Tania di Mario said: “It was a tough match. Towards the end we struggled to deal with the Canadians’ pressing, but the result is what counts and our minds are already on Rio.”
The USA, the reigning Olympic world champions whose new generation trained in Rio last November, had less difficulty in confirming their berth in Brazil, beating France 19-0. USA coach Adam Krikorian said: “We are certainly a talented team but I don’t think it can be underestimated how hard the players work. I’m proud of how we played.”
Spain knocked out the hosts with a 10-7 victory, leaving the Dutch, who won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008, without a place in Rio. The Spanish celebrated (see image below) while Netherlands coach Arno Havenga was left to wonder what could have been. “I don’t know if it’s the pressure or something else,” he said. “We didn’t played on the level we used to.”
With the exception of the Dutch, the most recent world and Olympic champions are confirmed for Rio. Along with the currently dominant USA, the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic champions (Australia and Italy) and 2013 world champions Spain will compete for medals at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre and Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Barra Olympic Park.
Italy celebrate their qualification for Rio with a glass of bubbly
Eight teams – Brazil, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Australia, Japan, Montenegro and the USA – are already qualified for the men’s water polo tournament. The final places will be decided at the Olympic qualifier in Trieste, Italy, on April 3-10, with the following teams competing: Russia, Slovakia, France, Hungary, Romania, Canada, Italy, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Kazakhstan.
Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
