Water Polo Giants Aim For Supremacy

Serbia men and Spain women on the hunt to replicate Olympic success on global stage

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Serbia's water polo gold rush at the Olympics began at Rio 2016, followed by triumphs at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Last August, their three-peat sparked celebrations in the Paris La Defense Arena, when the coaching staff celebrated with the players by leaping into the pool fully clothed.

The water polo giants will be hoping for more scenes of joy when the action kicks off at the World Aquatics Championships at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on July 11, with the women's tournament, followed by the men a day later.

While Serbia have dominated at the Olympics, top honours at the world event has been elusive of late.

Since winning the world title in 2015 and earning bronze in 2017, their results have steadily declined: two fifth-placed finishes, fourth, and most recently, sixth in Doha in 2024.

On the hunt to end their decade-long drought, the team chose not to refresh their squad after the end of the Olympics, with nine members of the Paris Games champions among their 15-man team in Singapore.

Strahinja Rasovic, 33, a key member of the team here, has two Olympic golds (2020, 2024) but no world championships medals.