The draw for the 2020 Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournaments took place today in Lausanne (SUI), at the FINA Headquarters, led by the Chairman of the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee Manuel Ibern.
For the men’s tournament, to be held from March 22-29 in Rotterdam (NED), the composition of the groups is as follows:
GROUP A
1. Georgia
2. Asia 1
3. Canada
4. Brazil
5. Montenegro
6. Greece
GROUP B
1. Croatia
2. Netherlands
3. Asia 2
4. Russia
5. Germany
6. Argentina
The Olympic competition, to be played by 12 teams in Tokyo (JPN), has already eight qualified squads: Australia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain and United States. Following the Asian specific continental selection, the Qualification Tournament will decide on the last three teams to be present in the Games.
Concerning the women’s qualification competition, to be organised from March 8-15 in Trieste (ITA), the result of the draw was as follows:
GROUP A
1. Netherlands
2. France
3. Italy
4. Asia 2
5. Slovakia
GROUP B
1. Greece
2. Hungary
3. Israel
4. New Zealand
5. Asia 1
The Olympic tournament in Tokyo will have for the first time the presence of 10 women’s teams, with the last two spots being decided in the Trieste competition. In the meantime, the following national squads have already booked their ticket for the Games: Australia, Canada, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Spain and United States. As with the men’s, the Asian continental qualification (one spot) is still to be decided.