Trainees of Astrakhan School of the Olympic Reserve in water polo, born in 2010 and 2012, spent three weeks at training camps in the Republic of Uzbekistan under the guidance of coaches Ivan Spiridonov and Nikolai Nechaev. Our teams successfully competed in tournaments with the participation of Uzbek athletes.
The first matches, held in the capital of Uzbekistan, brought victory to the Astrakhan team born in 2010. The guys did not lose a single match and snatched gold medals from their Tashkent peers in a penalty shootout.
Then our water polo players went to the main water polo center of Uzbekistan, the city of Namangan, where eight teams competed in the Namangan Region Cup tournament. Following the results of the competition, the gold medals were won by the hosts, and the silver and bronze medals were taken away by the teams of Astrakhan young athletes.
"In Tashkent and Namangan, we were greeted with traditional Uzbek hospitality, the competitions were organized at a very high level, all the competitors were well prepared and competed worthily for awards," commented Ivan Spiridonov, coach of the Astrakhan Water polo team. – These two tournaments, as well as the departure of our athletes to Uzbekistan for training camps, became the starting point for cooperation between the Astrakhan and Namangan water polo schools. Astrakhan water polo players of the older generation remember their participation in the Asian Summer Games in the late 90s of the last century. Recently, the Astrakhan regional public organization "Water Polo Federation" and the Federation "Uzbekistan Aquatics" signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of development and popularization of water polo. This means that our friendship will grow stronger. Ahead are joint competitions, training camps, trainings, and master classes, during which we will exchange experiences."
Photo: Astrakhan water polo sport school