Younger Leads Australia to Historic Best

Player of the tournament Aaron Younger has led Australia to an historic silver medal at the 2018 FINA Water Polo World Cup in Berlin.

Despite losing the final 10-4 to Hungary, Australia has enjoyed a ground-breaking campaign, winning through to a showpiece final after victories over reigning world champion Croatia and hosts Germany in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.

The second place ranking is the men’s national team’s highest ever ranking a world cup level and serves notice that Elvis Fatovic’s young side can mix it with the world’s best.

Younger captained an impressive Australian outfit which also included WA athletes George and Andy Ford and Tim Putt.

Younger starred throughout the tournament and was a regular on the scoresheet for the Sharks as he collected the prestigious trophy for best player. He said the result was a worthy reflection of the group’s commitment over sustained period of time.

“I’m completely proud of how they’ve played in every game. We set this tournament as our benchmark event, so to walk away with the silver medal is great,” said Younger.

“The work that the boys have put together over the last months and even years, has been huge.

“We are one of the only nations in the top five that is an amateur side with most our guys holding down full time jobs and study while training to compete against the best in the world.

“I think tonight’s result came down to complete exhaustion, both emotionally and physically.

“We had a short time to back up today after the penalty shootout against Germany plus we had a big quarter final against Croatia.

“This is a great stepping stone for us towards Tokyo and a good push for next year for World Championships,” he said.

Photo: © Gertjan Kooji | Beeldboot