Chinese women's water polo team beat Japan to win Asian Championship

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Chinese women's water polo team celebrates with Asian Championship trophy in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, March 2, 2025. /Sina Weibo

The Chinese women's water polo team triumphed in a hard-fought battle against Japan at the Asian Water Polo Championship held in Zhaoqing, Guangdong on Sunday. The intense match ultimately went into a penalty shootout, where China emerged victorious with a 18-17 scoreline, claiming the championship title.

Throughout the previous four games, China had breezed through with little resistance. However, their final opponent, Japan, proved to be a formidable challenge. In the first quarter, the Japanese team leveraged their numerical advantages to score frequently, taking an early 4-1 lead. Despite missing several seemingly certain goals, China rallied back but struggled to pull away throughout the game.

Both teams participating in the Asian Championship were composed of young players. In the penalty shootout, Chinese goalkeeper and captain Shen Yi made three perfect saves that ultimately secured China's 18-17 victory over Japan.

"The last shot of the penalty shootout was not so difficult for me because I know my opponent well." said Shen, "We've been competing against each other since the 2018 Asian Games. She is also a veteran in her team. So I just knew which way she would throw and I trusted my guts, based on all my experience before and our preparations for this match. I didn't think too much. So it was not very difficult for me."