Croatia beaten in the final by Serbia at the Water Polo World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Croatian water polo team has won the silver medal at the World Championships in Kazan in Russia. In finals, Croatia lost against Serbia 4-11 (2-2, 0-3, 2-2, 0-4), reports Index.hr on August 9, 2015.
Croatia, who is the reigning Olympic champion, was powerless against a very strong Serbia, which justified its status as the main favourite of the tournament and deservedly won the gold medal.
The start of the game gave some hope that Croatia could be able to win its second world title, after Melbourne in 2007. Maro Joković and Antonio Petković gave Croatia a lead 2-0. However, by the end of the first quarter, Serbia managed to score two goals through Prlainović and Mandić. The key was the second quarter in which Croatia failed to score a single goal. Unfortunately, shots by Sukno and Muslim hit the goalposts, while Serbia scored three goals for 5-2. During the third quarter, Serbia on occasion widened its lead to as many as four goals (6-2, 7-3). In the fourth quarter, Croatian players again completely failed in the attack phase of the game, while the Serbians got a few accurate shots from a distance and achieved the easy victory.
For Croatia, this is a fifth consecutive world championship medal, the first silver. In addition to gold in 2007, Croatia has won three bronze medals in a row (2009, 2011, 2013). For Serbia, after Rome in 2009, this is the second time that it has won gold at the world championships as an independent country.
Sandro Sukno scored two goals for Croatia in the finals, while Antonio Petković and Maro Joković scored one goal. In the Serbian team, the best scorer was Andrija Prlainović with three goals, while Miloš Ćuk scored two.
The bronze medal was won by Greece, who beat Italy 11-9 in a penalty shootout. Greece won its second medal at the world championships, after bronze in Montreal in 2005. In addition, Italy has qualified for the Olympic Games next year in Rio de Janeiro.
