Aug 25, 2009, 5:32 PM

‘We just think about the promotion of water polo’

SIBENIK, Croatia, Aug. 25 (MNA) -- Gianni Lonzi, the chairman of the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee, says that FINA officials just think about the promotion of the sport throughout the world.

The 15th FINA World Junior Men’s Water Polo Championships is currently underway in Sibenik, Croatia.

Mr. Lonzi believes these players will make the future of the sport.

“We just think about the promotion of water polo in the world. These kinds of competitions will help the junior players to learn new rules and improve their abilities,” the Italian FINA official said.

“You see a team like Spain can advance to the final of the 2009 competitions in Rome. They lost to Serbia on a penalty shoot out, and this means water polo is not limited to countries like Hungary and Serbia,” Lonzi added.

A total of 19 teams are divided into three groups of five teams and one group of four teams for the FINA World Junior Men’s Water Polo Championships.

Hungary beat Italy in the 2007 edition and won the gold medal of the event which was held in Los Alamitos, USA.

Groups:

A: Montenegro, Puerto Rico, Iran, Egypt, Greece

B: Hungary, Uzbekistan, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy

C: South Africa, U.S.A., Spain, Serbia

D: Croatia, Slovakia, Canada, France, Australia

MH/HG

END

MNA

News ID 35537