After men's water polo defending champions Kazakhstan returned to the gold medal match with a 9-8 victory over China in the semi-finals, China will now try to win the bronze medal at a second straight Asian Games when they take on Iran, who fell to Japan 18-7 on the other side of the bracket.

Kazakhstan didn’t have an easy time in the Asian Games semi-finals, and they just managed to turn back a spirited challenge from China, and kept their hopes of a continental repeat alive. China's latest shot at their first gold in 12 years was denied when a potential tying goal is ruled out, as the titleholders prevailed 9-8.

Petar Porobic, China’s water polo coach, said after his team’s heart-breaking defeat, “They played together for a long period, 6 to 7 years, and today we started with a new team since many of our players are playing one series competition for the first-time. Today we played really very good and I think because of lack of experience we conceded one or two goals, which weren’t expected. But one has to agree that we have played better than earlier.”

Meanwhile, China’s captain Wu Honghui said, “I am so proud of my teammates despite of the result. We were behind since the first quarter, but we evened the score before the break. We had to keep trying, but they are much more experienced than we are."

The Chinese and Kazakh teams share the all-time lead in water polo crowns at the Asian Games, with both teams topping the podium five times apiece. China won four straight titles from 1978 through 1990, and added a fifth in 2006, but have experienced more downs than ups in recent years.

The Chinese captain, who is also the goalkeeper of the team, added, “European and American athletes are good at physical contact, so we need to improve our swimming skills and long-range shooting to deal with them better.”

China's pool of potential roster members is not very big, as there are only around 100 professional players in the country, and the discipline has very limited visibility. In addition, China's last Olympic appearance was in 2008 as the multi-sport spectacle was held in Beijing.

Porobic mentioned, “Kazakhstan play in Russian competitions every week and that’s entirely a different level. Our Chinese player don’t have the opportunity to play many matches and many competitions. I hope in the future the situation will be different and they get a chance to play every week.”

Wu, however, said, “China has 1.4 billion people, and I am so proud that I can represent my country in competing on the international stage” as the next mission for China after the Asian Games, will be attempting to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.