Chengdu Universiade | Defending champion Italy routs China in water polo men's preliminary

CHENGDU, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Italy, the defending champion, secured a 17-7 win over China in the men's water polo preliminary round at the 31st FISU World University Games here on Saturday.

Italy led the first period 7-2. However, Team China mounted a spirited fight in the second, preventing their opponents from expanding the slight goal margin for nearly seven minutes.

Although Liang Ziqian and Li Jiaxing netted two goals within a minute, China remained well behind Italy. Against Italy's relentless attacks, China eventually ran out of steam, with the deficit ballooning to double digits.

"Italy is a very formidable team, and we gave it our all," said China's captain, Wang Beiyi.

In other matches on Saturday, Greece dominated Singapore 26-5, Georgia triumphed over South Korea 19-7, Hungary outperformed Germany 18-13, and the United States surprised Slovakia 16-3.

The women's water polo competition is set to start on Sunday.