WP London 2012: Montenegro wins; Greece, Romania and Spain also qualify

Tim Polo Montenegro

Lausanne (SUI), MAJALAH AKUATIK INDONESIA - Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Spain were the four qualified teams for the 2012 Olympic Games earning their “tickets” at the Men’s Water Polo Qualification Tournament held in Edmonton (CAN), from April 1-8. Montenegro won the competition by beating Spain 12-9 in the final match, while Greece got the bronze, triumphing over Romania by 14-10.

Outside this quartet, the best non-qualified team was Canada (fifth), followed by FYR of Macedonia (sixth), Turkey (seventh) and Brazil (eighth). Outside of the quarter-finals, Argentina, Germany and Netherlands completed the list of teams competing in this Qualification Tournament.

The top-5 scorers also reflected the results of the event, with Cosmin Radu (ROU), being the most successful with 21 goals. He was followed by Ioannis Fountoulis (GRE) and Felipe Perrone (ESP), both with 18, and by Aleksandar Ivovic and Mladan Janovic, both representing Montenegro and both scoring 17 goals.

Besides the qualified national squads in Edmonton, the remaining eight teams participating in the Men’s Water Polo Olympic tournament are: World champion Italy, runner-up and 2011 World League winner Serbia, world number 3 Croatia and nine-time Olympic champion Hungaryas the four best ranked teams from the 2011 FINA World Championships. Australia, Kazakhstan and the United States booked their London berths through their respective Continental championships, while Great Britain as host of the 2012 Olympic Games represents Europe.    

The Women’s Water Polo Qualification Tournament will take place in Trieste (ITA), from April 15-22. Four teams will be selected in this event, and will be added to the four already qualified nations for the Olympic Games.

The draw for the Olympic Games tournaments (men – 12 teams, women – 8 teams) will be held on May 5, 2012 in London (GBR), during the Water Polo Test Event. (fina)