China finishes 8th at women's water polo world cup

China finished in eighth place at the 2026 women's water polo world cup after going down to Hungary in Sydney on Saturday.

China was beaten 12-8 by Hungary in the seventh-place playoff at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center.

The Chinese team took an early 2-1 lead in the match, only to see Hungary, who won silver at the 2025 World Cup, netted five consecutive goals thereafter, and China unable to get back within two goals.

China had more steals for the match than Hungary and committed fewer turnover fouls, but could not capitalize in attack, converting eight of 25 shots compared to 12 of 25 for Hungary.

Speaking after the match, Hungarian coach Sandor Cseh said that the Chinese team is getting "better and better" every game.

China coach Miguel Oca said his team had "very good moments of playing" in the match, but Hungary had a better starting.

"They've been starting very well, very strong. They are a very powerful team. And then they opened a hole in the score of four or five goals," Oca told Xinhua. "And then we've been keeping this distance."

China kept fighting to close the gap, and their performance gradually improved, he added.

Yan Siya, who opened the scoring for China with an extra player shot, said the team's overall play was still a bit slow, both offensively and defensively, especially in the opening stages of the match.

She noted that the same issue had also been evident in the previous two games, with the team taking time to settle into its rhythm before gradually fighting its way back into the contest.

"The squad is still very young and needs more experience in major international competitions. At the same time, the players need to continue improving their individual skills as well as their overall teamwork and coordination," Yan said.

Top-ranked Spain will play the United States in the gold medal match on Sunday, while Australia will play Russia for bronze.