Aquatic Sports Association (ASA) president Austin Sammut yesterday heaped praise on the performances of Malta's national waterpolo team in the recent European 'B' championships, which were held in Lugano, Switzerland.
"The team fared much better than we had first expected, in the process assuring their place in the qualifying round for the European 'A' Championships, which are to be played in Zagreb, Croatia next year".
"We know that our limitations as a nation can sometimes hinder our sporting prospects in tournaments such as these. However, the waterpolo team have proved to the whole Maltese population that with strong courage, commitment and desire, we too can be on a par with other countries of higher levels of expectation," said Dr Sammut.
"Although waterpolo interest is sometimes neglected in this country, as an organisation the ASA is constantly striving to improve the preparation and arrangements of the team when it takes part in future similar tournaments. The team's success proves that the waterpolo team merits as much attention as other sports in this country," added Dr Sammut.
National Team coach Sergio Afric thanked everyone associated with the team and staff, saying that the results justified the strenous training and preparation they had been undergoing all through the past few months.
"Every country was determined to do well in the championships, with Switzerland astonishingly playing 20 warm-up games before the championships began so as to be as well prepared and fit enough before the serious business kicked in".
"As a team we spent roughly 3 months meticulously preparing for the championships, and justifiably we got our reward by qualifying for the next European "A" Championships which will commence next January. We were a bit tired at the end of it all, but that is to be expected, as we played seven matches in nine days," said Afric.
When asked about his personal highlight of the tournament, Afric said that undoubtedly, it was the Georgia game which particular stands out for him and his team.
"After opening back to back victories over Switzerland and Poland respectively, our third match against Georgia was arguably our sternest test of the tournament at that time. Having played our hearts out, we won 12-10, which edged us closer to our target of qualifying for the next championships".
"Conceding that last minute goal to Netherlands was probably our biggest disappointment. We must increase our prepation both fitness wise and mentally wise in order to make sure that such lapses in concentration are eradicated from future performances. A lot of countries were suprised by Malta's performances and commended our efforts. Let's hope that more success is achieved in the near future, "added the coach.
Dr Sammut also to the time to thank the team's main sponsors, Air Malta and Bank of Valletta (BOV) saying that without them the team wouldn't have been as successful in these championships as they have been.