Water polosters, despite a convincing victory, not a group winner at OKT | NOW

The Dutch polosters finished second in their group at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OKT) in Trieste. National coach Arno Havenga’s side were too strong for France in their final 15-6 group game on Thursday, but that wasn’t enough to keep Italy in the top spot.

As expected, the Italians had no problem with Slovakia (26-4) two hours after the Orange game and thus ensured the group victory.

While the Netherlands and Italy were tied in their mutual match on Wednesday (7-7), the result of the match against France is decisive. With Italy winning 19-6 against the France team, a victory for the Netherlands with at least fourteen goals difference was necessary on Thursday to stay ahead of Italy.

The Orange got off to a great start and led 8-2 after the first period. After that, the Netherlands game got more difficult, so that not enough was scored to stay ahead of Italy.

Dagmar Genee and Simone van de Kraats were the top scorers for the Dutch side with four goals apiece.

Orange meet Kazakhstan in quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the Netherlands face relatively weak Kazakhstan on Friday. This team finished third in the other pool with a draw against number four Israel (7-7).

There are two tickets to be distributed in Trieste for the Olympic Games next summer in Tokyo. This means that the decision falls in the semi-finals.

Normally, the Orange team will have to obtain Olympic qualification on Saturday in the semi-final against Greece. The Greek women beat their competitor Hungary (8-5) on Thursday, making them the winner of the other group.