SINGAPORE, 30 March 2025 – Iran’s men’s U-20 team ended China’s unbeaten run to emerge as champions in the Asian U-20 Water Polo championships, with a 15 – 11 victory at the OCBC Aquatics Centre earlier today. Iran took a slender 3 – 2 after the first quarter, but showed their dominance to head into the second half 8 – 4 ahead. Iran extended their advantage, heading into the final quarter 13 – 7 ahead, and held on to win 15 – 11.
In a thrilling bronze medal match, Singapore’s men’s U-20 side narrowly lost 10 – 14 against Central Asian powerhouses Kazakhstan. The hosts surged to an early 2 – 0 lead within the first two minutes of the contest, with goals from Joshua Ong and Cayden Loh. Kazakhstan’s Kirill Panteleyev pulled two goals back, but a second goal from Loh allowed Singapore to take a slim 3 – 2 lead into the first break.
However, Kazakhstan surged to a five goal lead in the second quarter, with Singapore behind 3 – 7 into half time. Despite the setback, Singapore mounted a valiant comeback in the third quarter, where strikes from Loh, Matthias Goh and Wong Hong Kai, brought them back within two goals of Kazakhstan and heading into the final quarter trailing 8 – 10. Kazakhstan held firm, and despite further goals from Lee and Goh, Singapore fell short with a 10 – 14 loss.
Team Singapore’s men’s U-20 captain Loh said: “I am proud of our performance throughout the tournament. Even though we did not get the result we wanted today, we showed resilience, belief, and the willingness to fight until the end. This tournament has been an incredible learning experience, and we have shown that we can compete at this level. We will take these lessons forward and keep pushing to elevate Singapore water polo.”
Earlier in the day, Uzbekistan triumphed over Malaysia, while Sri Lanka defeated Chinese Taipei in the 5th and 7th placing matches, respectively.
On the women’s side, Singapore’s captain Ranice Yap emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with an impressive 28 goals, as Singapore claimed fourth place. In the final match, Singapore put on a valiant fight against China, going down 28 – 4, while Kazakhstan beat Uzbekistan 12 – 6. With these results, China women’s U-20 side claimed the championships with an unbeaten run of six wins across six round-robin matches, while Kazakhstan edged out Uzbekistan for second place.
Iran’s Arman Shams was named top goalscorer and Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the men’s tournament, having played a key role in Iran’s championship run. Singapore’s Ivaac Lee was recognised as the best goalkeeper in the men’s competition, acknowledging his consistent and composed performances throughout the tournament.
With their respective fourth-place finishes, Singapore’s men’s and women’s U-20 sides secured qualification for the 2025 World U-20 Water Polo Championships. The men’s tournament will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, from 14 to 21 June 2025, while the women’s tournament will take place in Salvador, Brazil, from 10 to 18 August 2025.
Mr Dominic Soh, Singapore Aquatics’ vice-president (Water Polo) said, “This tournament has brought together the region’s best, and our teams’ performances reflect the progress we are making in strengthening our talent pipeline. We are immensely proud of our players, who have shown resilience against the continent’s top U-20 teams. The experience gained here will instill confidence in them, and we hope this result inspires all young water polo players in Singapore to strive for excellence on the Asian stage. Hosting this tournament reinforces Singapore’s position as a hub for aquatic sports in the region, and we look forward to building on this momentum for the future.”
The Asian U-20 Water Polo Championships kickstarts a series of important international aquatics events in Singapore. In June, Singapore will host the 46th South East Asian Age Group Championships across all four aquatic sports (swimming, water polo, diving and artistic swimming), while in July, Singapore will welcome the world’s best at the World Aquatics Championships, and the World Aquatics Masters Championships in August. Team Singapore will also be in action at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand in December 2025.