OB2 is the third strongest national men’s water polo championship, divided into four regions. Semmelweis University’s Sport Club team qualified for Group 1 of the playoffs along with three other teams (PTE-PEAC Mighty Bulls, Cívis Póló Waterpolo Sports Club, Dunakanyar Waterpolo). The final is a three-round competition, with 2-2 matches against one another in each round. Semmelweis University’s waterpolo team won all four matches in the two rounds, starting the finals from the top of the table.
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On 11 June, the final, third round of playoffs was held at MOM Sportuszoda. Semmelweis University played a match with Dunakanyar Waterpolo at 12:00 with a score of 12:11. Then at 14:30, they played with second-placed PTE-PEAC Mighy Bulls, scoring 13:12 to win the championship and earn the right to compete in the second division OB1/B next season.
“Both games were very challenging: our competitors dominated in the first quarter of the final game, but drawing strength from the heart, spirit and physique, the team was able to recover”, said head coach Vazul Karácsonyi. He added that it was a very close game from the middle of the third quarter, but they finally managed to turn the game around, and took a one-goal lead. Balázs Kalanovics, who managed the winning team, said that they were happy to achieve the goal they set themselves at the beginning of the year and to win the championship with a joint effort, which makes them proud.
This is a historic achievement for Semmelweis University’s Waterpolo Club, as we have never made it to the top four before
– said head coach Vazul Karácsonyi. “Our main strength is cooperation and team spirit: our members succeed as a team in the pool just like in the operating theatre,” he explained, adding that the members of the team have been playing together for a long time, so they know each other well and they also have the right tactical preparation.
Vazul Karácsonyi has been coaching the boys for three years and he is assistant coach of the women’s first division team of Ferencváros TC as well. “Semmelweis University’s Waterpolo Club is active in several fields: besides the university championship and the Medic’s Cup, we also competed in the Budapest championship – at the beginning of the season I decided to have the same students participate in these competitions, because this way they can keep playing. We started in OB2 to give older players who had graduated from the university a chance to play,” he stressed, adding that the former students who had already graduated were joined by some external players. Vazul Karácsonyi pointed out that his colleague Balázs Kalanovics, who is in charge of the OB2 team, will take over as head coach next year.
Ádám Szabó, Bernadett Bódi
Translation: Viktória Kiss
Fotó: Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
