By Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) – Hungary beat Spain 9-5 to win the bronze medal in the Olympic men’s water polo competition on Sunday, matching the result of their women’s team a day earlier.
The Hungarian women beat the Russian Olympic Committee team to finish third and win their first Olympic medal in water polo on Saturday.
Hungary are the most successful men’s water polo team at the Olympics, winning nine gold medals, including three in a row between 2000 and 2008.
Victory earned the Hungarian men their 16th medal overall, and their first since Beijing 2008, in a match that was a repeat of the 2020 European Championship final, which Spain also lost.
“The last 48 hours or so were like a roller coaster emotionally,” Hungary captain Denes Varga told reporters. “We had to pull ourselves together so we could play effectively.”
The first half at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre was a tight contest, with the teams ending the first quarter 3-3 and the second 5-5, but Hungary edged ahead to lead by a single goal at the end of the third period before pulling away in the fourth.
Marton Vamos top scored for the Hungarians with two goals, and seven more of their players got on the scoresheet, while goalkeeper Viktor Nagy made eight saves.
“They were able to come back and play better than us and that’s it,” Spain captain Felipe Perrone Rocha said. “We lost the medal in the semi-final.”
Greece take on Rio 2016 champions Serbia, who beat Spain in the semi-finals, in the gold medal match later in the day.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey in Tokyo and Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
