Canada finishes fourth at the FINA Women World League Water Polo Super Final

Emma Wright was the best of her team with three goals: “ It is always difficult to play the same team twice in a tournament. We came out strong at the beginning, implementing our game plan. Unfortunately, we had a couple of lapses throughout the game which we got punished for. I’m proud of the team for fighting till the end and we will take what we learned from this tournament and continue to improve and work hard leading towards the Olympic Games.”

The other goal scorers for Canada were: Monika Eggens (1), Kelly Mckee (1), Hayley Mckelvey (1), Gurpreet Sohi (1), Axelle Crevier (1).

For the Canadian women, this game concluded the tournament and also the first phase of the team’s preparation for the Olympic Tournament. Denied of all competition in the last two years, the Canadian team completed the FINA Super Final satisfied with their improvement and, moreover, aware of their progression and of the work that still lays ahead before the Tokyo Games. “We came into the tournament with a lot to prove. We haven’t been playing nor been seen in the last 2 years. I believe we reached our objectives for this tournament as it is the best preparation for us going into the Olympics”, told head coach David Paradelo after the game.

One element that was worrying the Canadian coaches in the last few months with the Olympics Games on the horizon was the lack of high-level competition that the women’s team had faced. Even if the team play is not yet optimal, they were overall reassured during the tournament by the way they saw the players react and progress. “I am really proud of how the women played, fought and kept their focus during the tournament. It is really moving in the right direction towards the Olympics”, said Paradelo.

The Canadian team will spend another two weeks in Greece and Hungary to continue their Olympic preparation. They will head afterward to Morioka, Japan.