Team Canada won its opening match in men’s water polo at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. On Sunday evening in Canada (Monday afternoon in Japan), Canada defeated China 13-10.
Two Canadians scored hat tricks on Sunday. Nicolas Constantin-Bicari of Montreal, Quebec and Aleksa Gardijan of Gatineau, Quebec both scored three goals. Constantin-Bicari scored three goals on seven shots and Gardijan scored three goals on ten shots. Five other Canadians scored. Bogdan Djerkovic of Ottawa, Ontario and Leo Hachem of Montreal each scored two goals. The three Canadians who scored once were Milan Radenovic of Montreal, Gaelan Patterson of North Vancouver, British Columbia, and Matthew Halajian of Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
Canada got off to a strong start in Canada’s win over China, scoring all four goals in the first quarter to take a 4-0 lead. However, China was the best team in the second quarter as they outscored Canada 6-3 and came within one goal at 7-6. China and Canada each scored four goals in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth quarter, Canada played strong defense by limiting China to zero goals and scoring two goals.
Canada is tied for first place in Group B with Italy. Italy beat France 13-6. Canada plays Italy on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. MT and France on Friday morning at 5:30 a.m. MT.
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