Men's water polo: Gold at stake in the pool

Asian superpowers China and Japan will face off for gold in the men's water polo competition at Al-Sadd Sports Club on 14 December. IR Iran and outgoing champions Kazakhstan will clash for the bronze.

China easily accounted for the Iranians 12-7 in their semifinal clash on Tuesday 12 December and are shooting for a fifth Asian Games title after straight victories from 1978 to 1990.

The Chinese won the last two bronze medals, and silver in 1994, as well as finishing 16th at the Barcelona 2003 World Championships, losing by one goal to tonight's rival's Japan 10-9. Veteran Han Zhidong spent a night in hospital after that clash.

Tonight at 18:00 is their chance to reverse that result. Japan have not won the Asian Games title since 1970 when they won their fourth straight crown, but at Doha 2006 beat four-time champions Kazakhstan 10-9 in a semifinal penalty-shootout thriller on 12 December.

Koji Tanaka converted the winning penalty. Japan lost to China 16-13 on the second day of the tournament, but have been much stronger since then.

Kan Ayoagi, who plays for Italian club Brescia, and Yoshinori Shiota will be the players to watch. Goalie Tomonaga Eguchi blocked 20 out of 25 shots playing against Kazakhstan.

Japan coach Yoji Omoto said of the impending final: "We lost against China in the first match [16-13]. We need to fix our defence and we hope to recover and expect to do much better.

"In the past, we have equal results but it will be a very tough match and it is difficult to say who will win."

Bronze will be decided in the earlier match at 17:00. IR Iran lost the semifinal to China 12-7. Coach Neven Kovacevic changed eight players only months before the Asian Games, and IR Iran will need quick transition play to keep up with Kazakhstan.

Doha 2006 saw Kazakhstan lost their unbeaten record from 1994, including three Asian Games crowns. They could not get the better of Japan, losing the semifinal 10-9.

Veteran Ivan Zaitsev missed his penalty attempt in the semifinal shootout. Coach Askar Orazalinov played at the previous three Asian Games.

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006