Germany completed an impressive double at The World Games Chengdu 2025, once again underlining their status as a Canoe Polo powerhouse.
With a packed crowd watching at the Jianyang Cultural and Sports Center, their men’s team got the better of Italy 3-1 to defend their title and bag their fourth gold medal in a row, while the women’s team registered a superb 4-0 win against New Zealand.
Men’s captain Jonas Vieren has previously taken pride in the mighty German defence, and it was on display in the gold-medal match.
Two of their goals came through counterattacks as Tim Riecke broke the deadlock before Rene Kirchhoff doubled the lead.
For the second goal, the initial shot from Arne Beckmann ricocheted off the post, but Kirchhoff was there to calmly score from the rebound.
Lennart Unterfeld scored the third after a sweet dummy to make it 3-0, but a momentary lapse in the second half saw Alessandro Schiano Di Cola pull one back.
Credit to Italy for coming up with every weapon in their arsenal, as Di Cola’s strike was their only goal in the final.
In the women’s final, Germany controlled the first half, not giving New Zealand a moment to rest with throws from all sides of the pitch.
Two minutes into the game, Nele Schmalenbach squeezed one in from close range, and the second half started with another early goal.
This time, it was Leonie Wagner who delivered. Jill Lara Rutzen found her charging from the right, and Wagner made the chance count.
Nina Hachenburg got the third for the Germans and Hannah Elisa Kunz fourth, as the reigning world champions ran out of steam.
The win, Germany’s fourth gold medal at the Games, is extra special after finishing fifth at the 2024 International Canoe Federation Canoe Polo World Championships.
It was a historic day for the Netherlands women, who won their first-ever bronze medal at The World Games, with a dominant 9-2 win over Italy.
Their best finish previously was fifth, but Alisha Van Den Berg and Wendy Huizinga led from the front to change that in Chengdu.
Van Den Berg scored three, and Huizinga four. Long rangers have been a speciality for the Dutch as Van Den Berg broke the deadlock with a beautiful dink.
The women in orange were finding the gaps too easily as Italy looked a shadow of the team that finished second at the World Championships last year.
In stark contrast, Great Britain won the men’s bronze medal by the finest of margins, edging debutants Denmark, who put on a brave show.
They beat the reigning European champions 3-2 to win their second bronze medal at the Games, with the first one coming 20 years ago.
Fergal McConvey starred with a hat-trick, showing great athleticism and precision for Great Britain.
They were leading 2-0 up when Mathias Klojgaard Amnitzboell Wellendorph pulled one back before Marius Larsen added one more with a little more than five minutes to go.
A penalty was awarded for the Danes soon after, but unfortunately, Kristian Kleist struck the post as Great Britain held on for the win.
Earlier in the day, in the women’s semi-finals, New Zealand beat the Netherlands 4-1, and Germany eased past Italy 5-1. The men’s fixtures saw Germany defeat Great Britain 4-1, and Italy triumphed over Denmark 3-1.
Spain finished fifth, Denmark sixth, Iran seventh, and China eighth among women, while France secured fifth position, Spain sixth, and Poland seventh, with the hosts taking last place once again.
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