The water polo team of Montenegro finished another World Championship in eighth place.
After Budapest in 2022 and Fukuoka last year, the "sharks" also finished their participation in Doha in eighth place - Vladimir Gojković's team today lost to Hungary 18:16 (14:14 in the regular part) in the match for seventh place, after the fifth round.
"I'm sorry at the end. I congratulate the players for their fighting spirit - the games with Hungary and Greece showed that we play to the end, which we didn't do before in those games that weren't for the medal. Today we had fewer players, because Matković was injured during the warm-up. The boys carried a heavy load, many of them had three personal goals. We can be satisfied with the game. It would have been nicer if we had finished with a victory and ahead of Hungary, who were world champions half a year ago. These games give us hope that we can play with these opponents. ", said Gojković after the meeting.
At this championship, Montenegro qualified for the Olympic Games, which are held in Paris.
"Hungary is individually the best team in the world. They were the favorites for the gold. We played well, we found strength, we were concentrated. We entered the game well, from the first minute it was clear that we could play with them. In the end, we controlled the game , had a goal advantage. I think we had to finish the game in the regular course. In the end, the five-pointers came - certainly the better shooters of Hungary. I think we played a good game, showed that we can play with everyone. I think this is a good prelude for what awaits us in the summer," said Miroslav Perković.
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