Swimming
Lack of exposure sinks India’s Water Polo hopes at Asian Aquatics C'ships
The hosts exited the competition after four consecutive losses.
Indian men's water polo team in action at 2025 Asian Aquatics C'ships (Photo credit: SFI)
Ahmedabad: The Indian men’s water polo team’s campaign at the 2025 Asian Aquatics Championships unravelled in dramatic fashion here at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex on Tuesday.
The team led by Ananthu GS went down 11-35 to Japan in what was their final group stage match at the continental competition. The loss meant that India ended their campaign winless with four losses in as many matches.
The hosts are also the only team to bow out from the group stage with eight others advancing to the quarter-finals.
In their final clash against Japan, a total of six Indian players were permanently ousted from the match – one of them with a direct red card. Usually when a player commits three personal fouls in a match, they are sent out of the pool and can’t take any further part in the match in water polo.
On contrary to India’s six players being suspended from the match, Japan committed a combined total of three fouls in the match. India meanwhile had a combined 19 personal fouls in the match.
This was a pattern which repeated itself right from India’s first match against Singapore, where the hosts committed 14 personal fouls compared to the opponent’s four. India’s star centre forward, Bhagesh Kuthe was decommissioned from the match after committing three personal fouls.
India had 13 fewer fouls compared to the opponent in the second match against Thailand but the issue once again cropped up in their 6-20 loss against Kazakhstan, where they committed ten fouls.
'Played like beginners'
“They played like a unit, we played like beginners,” Ananthu said in an honest assessment to The Bridge.
“We play only in India. I play from Services and the biggest opponent we have is the Railways. We’ve never seen a stronger opponent,” he added.
In the first couple of matches, India were also guilty of fizzling out after getting a good start in the first quarter. In the opening match against Singapore, it was India who opened the scoring.
In the second match India went from 3-3 in the early second quarter to trailing 4-11 by the end of it. They would eventually lose that match 11-18.
Skipper Ananthu attributed it to the lack of top-level exposure the team has while competing. They were competing at the international level for the first time in three years.
“We don’t have the exposure,” rued Anandu. “We are doing our best with what we have.
“We feel that’s [exposure] just the difference between us and them. Japan, for example, plays three to four international matches a year. We play once in three years,” he added.
