No pain, no gain for Singapore’s water polo teams at world championships

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Lee Kai Yang (left) of the national mens water polo team in action during a training session at the Singapore Sports School on July 7.

ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Summary

• Singapores mens water polo team will debut at the World Championships, facing tough competition in Group C against the United States, Brazil and Canada.
• The team aims to improve at the Asian level, after dominating at the regional competition.
• The womens team, after a challenging debut in Doha 2024, seek improvement in their second World Championships.

AI generated

SINGAPORE – Singapore have been regional water polo kingpins, winning 27 consecutive titles at the SEA Games since 1965 – the streak was broken in 2019 but they recaptured their crown in Phnom Penh in 2023.

But, in the next few weeks, the men’s national team will be the minnows when the world’s best come to town for the World Aquatics Championships.

At world No. 38, the debutants are the lowest ranked among the 16 teams competing at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from July 11 to 24.

The women’s tournament kicks off on July 11, followed by the men a day later. The Singapore men are in Group C with world No. 6 and 2024 Olympic bronze medallists United States, as well as Brazil (10th) and Canada (13th).

Their preparations included friendly matches against Australian state teams and clubs, as well as the Australian national team in March. In June, they competed in China against Chinese provincial teams,