After qualifying for their first-ever FINA World Cup final, the Australian Men’s Water Polo team have claimed an historic silver medal in Germany.

Featuring eight NSW Institute of Sport athletes – over 60% of the World Cup squad – the ‘Aussie Sharks’ defied the odds to go further than any men’s team before them by competing in the Gold Medal playoff against Hungary.

Held every four years, the World Cup featured a number of upsets, arguably the biggest of which was Australia’s shock quarter-final victory over the reigning World Champions Croatia.

The win set up a semi-final clash against the host nation Germany, where the Australian men won on penalties thus guaranteeing at least a silver medal. Despite pushing Hungary to the death in their preliminary fixture, the eventual Champions showed their strength in the final with a 10-4 victory.

However, the loss did little to dampen the spirits of the Sharks who proudly claimed the silver medal, providing a significant boost of confidence in the build-up to the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

AUSSIE SHARKS – THE SILVER MEDALLISTS

  1. Aaron Younger (Captain)
  2. Richard Campbell (NSWIS)
  3. Joel Dennerley (NSWIS)
  4. Blake Edwards (NSWIS)
  5. Lachlan Edward (NSWIS)
  6. Andrew Ford
  7. George Ford
  8. Lachlan Hollis (NSWIS)
  9. Rhys Howden
  10. Anthony Hrysanthos (NSWIS)
  11. Joe Kayes (NSWIS)
  12. Nathan Power (NSWIS)
  13. Tim Putt

(Feature image via Water Polo Australia)

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