New Zealand has emerged as the new gold medal favourites in the women’s U21 after another impressive display on the water at the ICF Canoe Polo World Championships in St-Omer, France, on Wednesday.
After beating host nation France 2-1 and Italy 7-0 on Tuesday, the New Zealand team led from the start to beat pre-tournament favourites Germany, 4-3, and then eased past Poland 9-1.
The Germans are chasing a fifth consecutive U21 world title and their sixth overall, but New Zealand captain Kate Blincoe said her team is also in St-Omer to win.
“It was an awesome result, great to have that one under our belt,” she said after her team’s win over Germany.
“We like a little bit of pressure, but definitely the games not over yet, we’ve got a lot more games to go so we need to keep turning up and doing what we’re doing.”
The win leaves New Zealand as the only unbeaten team in the women’s group, with both France and Germany locked on three wins and yet to play each other.
Spain moved into the crucial fourth position with a 4-1 win over Great Britain, but with three games still to play captain Ariadna Hoyo knows there is still a lot of work to be done.
“We can make the next round, it’s our first time together as a team, my first world championships but also my last in U21 so we are surprised and happy,” Hoyo said.
“We have to win all our last games, so we are nervous, but I am so sure we can make it.”
Great Britain currently sits in sixth place and faces a similar scenario to Spain if it wants to make the semi-finals. Captain Jessica Webb said her young team is giving their all in every match.
“We’re quite a new team, so we are struggling a bit to get to grips with how to play with each other,” Webb said.
“The games have been tough. We’ll be the same team next year, so that will be good to see where we can take it. It’s a shame this year wasn’t for us, but we didn’t have any expectations coming in.”
Italy has had a tough tournament and currently sits at the foot of the table. Captain Martina Barbagallo said it’s the start of a new era for the team.
“This group is really young, so we believe we have a lot to learn,” she said.
“Last year a lot of the girls went through to the senior team, so this is a rebuilding phase.”
