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The women's water polo action at the Asian Games 2018 kicked off at the GBK Aquatic Center in Jakarta from 16th August and ends on 21 August 2018. Six teams compete in a single group in a round robin format to determine the Gold medal.
China (6), Japan (9), Kazakhstan (13), Thailand (16), Hong Kong (19), and hosts Indonesia are the participating countries in this year's game.
Defending champion China are the favourites to win the Gold medal and Japan and Kazakhstan will be fighting it out for the silver and bronze. Looking back at the history of the teams from the last Asian Games in 2014, China bagged the Gold, Japan claimed Silver and Kazakhstan settled for Bronze. The medal positions remained the same in the 2016 Asian Swimming Championships in Tokyo.
The first match of the day saw Japan (9) taking on the hosts Indonesia. Japan had a smooth sailing, defeating the hosts with a scoreline of 15-4. Sakanoue Chiaki (JPN) was the top scorer with 4 goals. Japan had a total of 36 attempts on target compared to 13 from Indonesia. The Indonesian stopper Pratiwi Ayudya Suidarwanty made 26 saves to deny the Japanese.
The second match featured Thailand (16) against Hong Kong (19). What was taught to be a close encounter turned into a one-sided affair with Thailand crushing Hong Kong 19-6. Saraikarn Varistha (THA) scored 5 goals and Thinwilai Janista (THA) scored 4. Thailand had a total of 31 attempts on target compared to 28 from Hong Kong. Stoppers from both the teams had an excellent outing with Thailand goal keeper making 14 saves and the Hong Kong stopper making 23 saves.
The final match pitted the defending champions China (6) against the bronze medalists from Incheon, Kazakhstan (13). China was superior right from the start and were so efficient in defence. They won the game 11-4. Xiong Dunhan and Zhang Jing scored two goals each for China. China had a total of 31 shots on goal and made 16 saves in total. Kazakhs had contributed 28 shots and effected 19 saves.
