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UNIVERSIADE: British water polo athletes aim for top eight finish

2017-08-18
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Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Water polo athletes from the United Kingdom on Thursday expressed confidence at their chances at the 2017 Taipei Universiade, saying they are aiming to finish in the top eight.

"Our first game is against France. We're really confident. I feel we can get a good result and play a good game," Aaron Winstanley, who captains Great Britain men's water polo team, told reporters at a reception organized by the British Office in Taipei to welcome the British athletes.

"Hopefully we can finish in the top eight at the end of the competition," said Winstanley, who was named England Programmes Water Polo Player of the Year at the ASA Aquatics Awards in 2016.
Elliot Patrick Kelly, another member of the team, said France is the strongest contender for Great Britain.

"So if we can beat them tomorrow, we're on to a good start," said the 24-year-old.
Katie Hesketh, captain of Great Britain women's water polo team, also said that finishing in the top eight is the goal of her team.

"A medal would be amazing and fantastic and a cherry on top of a cake, but I think our expectations are real and top eight would be a very, very big win for us," said the 23-year-old who won a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Since her team is relatively new and has been training for only about 10 months, Hesketh said the biggest goal is to improve from the previous games.

The biggest contenders are teams from Hungary and the United States, but the Japanese and New Zealand teams are the ones they are looking to defeat, she said.
All three athletes said the Taipei Universiade is the biggest sports event they have ever competed in.

"I've played water polo for a long time now, but I've never experienced a games as big as this, so it's an amazing experience for all the boys," Winstanley said.

They also had words of praise for Taipei, the host city, and the sports facilities and venues of the games, as well as Taiwanese food.

Winstanley called the pools in Taipei "fantastic" and "top level" and said all the staff were very helpful.

"The food is great. I've never had so much option for food in my life," Kelly said.

Meanwhile, Hesketh praised the volunteers in the athlete's village as "amazing," adding that she was impressed by the food in the dining hall.

"It was like, Oh, we're going to get fat on this rather than stay nice and fit," she said with a laugh.

Andrew Ross Hibbert, head of the Great Britain delegation, said his delegation includes 111 athletes and 52 staff and is the largest British delegation to participate at the Universiade since 2011.

Catherine Nettleton, head of the British Office, said she hopes the Taiwanese people and all those following the games will take this as an opportunity to celebrate the values of sportsmanship, such as generosity, dignity, teamwork and fair play.

The Taipei Universiade, the largest sporting event ever held in Taiwan, officially opens on Aug. 19, but football and water polo matches begin a day earlier. The Universiade will run until Aug. 30 and is expected to attract more than 11,400 delegates and athletes from 142 countries. 

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