Beautiful polo: the Russian women's national team will play at the World Cup with a flag and anthem

The Russian women's national water polo team will participate in the second division of the World Cup, which will be held in Malta from April 21 to 26. This is the first tournament under the auspices of World Aquatics since 2022, where our athletes will participate with a flag and anthem. The team led by Sergey Markoch has a good chance of winning the tournament and qualifying for the Super Finals. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

One level higher

The Russian women's national water polo team is one of the strongest in the world. Before being suspended in 2022, the Russian team was regularly among the winners of the World League, European Championships, World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Games. At the main start of the quadrennial, the Russians won bronze medals in 2000 and 2016, and at the Tokyo Games in 2021 they took fourth place, losing in the semifinals to the US national team (11:15), and in the bronze medal match to the Hungarian team (9:11). Many players of that Olympic team, including captain Ekaterina Prokofiev, are still in the ranks. In addition, a strong generation of young water polo players has formed, who have shown their skills not only in the Russian championship, but also in friendly matches with leading national teams.

Therefore, in the second division of the World Cup, where we got due to the lack of international ranking points, it will rather be decided by which score Russia will beat everyone. In the first stage, our girls will play against Argentina, Germany and South Africa for three days in a row. Here, perhaps, only the Germans can give Sergei Markoch's team at least some kind of fight.

Of the other participants, the Chinese national team looks the most competitive. However, we have played many test matches with the Chinese team in recent years and almost always achieved confident victories. Canada, Great Britain and Croatia have good national teams, but they are far from Russia in terms of class.

Our main rivals — Serbia, Hungary, Australia, Italy, Spain, the USA, Greece — play in the first division. We will meet them in the superfinal of the 2026 World Cup next summer. If, of course, we reach the finals of the second division. Dmitry Mazepin, Chairman of the Russian Federation of Water Sports (FVVSR), believes that due to the long downtime, it is not worth setting a specific task for the team.

"As I said, the Russian national water polo teams are just at the beginning of their journey," Dmitry Mazepin told TASS. — This is the first tournament in many years, so so far the team has not set any goals.

The truth in the water: how our water polo players performed at the World Cup

It was the first international start of the national team in a game sport since the suspension of our athletes in 2022.

With a flag and an anthem

Earlier in April, Malta hosted the second division of the World Cup among men's teams, where the Russian national team, but still in a neutral status, took seventh place. Water polo became the first team sport in which our athletes played official matches after being suspended by the IOC and international federations.

On the day of the end of the men's competition, April 13— the international Federation of World Aquatics allowed Russian athletes to use the national flag and anthem again. Thus, the women's water polo team will be one of the first to compete in an official international tournament with national symbols starting in 2022.

— We want to show a good game so that we will be proud in Russia, — Sergey Markoch told the press service of the FVVSR. — We want to take the first step towards the Olympic Games, where we will compete for gold. In the outdoor pool, an excellent complex, we will be able to show a good game in caps and swimsuits of the Russian national team and please all our fans.

At the tournament, each of the 15 teams will hold three meetings, following which the top eight will advance to the quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will compete for the remaining places.

— I am glad that after such a long break we have come to international competitions, we want to start them as soon as possible, to show ourselves, — said goalkeeper of the Russian national team Diana Khamraeva. — The conditions are excellent. Yes, it's a bit unusual to play in an outdoor pool, but the water, the gates, the balls are all the same. We arrived in advance, so we had time to adjust to the conditions and get into the rhythm of the game.

Our national team will face Argentina on April 21, Germany on April 22, and South Africa on April 23.