Strong Sides In Command

Spain, Netherlands, US and Australia win in women's water polo but few fans seen

- David Lee

Day one of the World Aquatics Championships may have kicked off with a swathe of empty seats in the 3,000-seater OCBC Aquatic Centre, but it was still business as usual for the big guns as the women's water polo tournament got under way on July 11.

Olympic silver medallists and world No. 6 Australia recorded the biggest win of the day with an opening 34-2 win over the 22nd-ranked Singapore. In the other Group A game, Italy came from behind to down New Zealand 14-9.

Despite the defeat, the hosts felt they had improved from their 32-1 loss to the same opponents in their championship debut in Doha a year ago.

Singapore goalkeeper Rochelle Ong said: "There are definitely still more things to work on in defence and attack, but we have grown as a team in terms of chemistry, strategies, gameplay and bonding since we last played Australia.

"We are excited for our upcoming games against New Zealand (July 13) and Italy (July 15) and we aim to continue to improve."

Earlier in the day, Olympic champions and world No. 1 Spain kicked things off with a 23-4 drubbing of South Africa in Group D, while 11th-ranked Britain came from behind to beat France (10th) 12-9.