(Beijing, March 23) The "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 Water Polo China Open concluded at Ying Tung Natatorium this afternoon, with Australia overwhelming China 12-7 to claim the men's title. The bronze medal went to Guangdong Derun, who edged Shanghai with 10-8 to settle for the bronze.

Judging by the strength of the two teams, Shanghai was a bit stronger, making a clean sweep of almost all titles at major domestic tournaments. The Guangdong men's team used to dominate the domestic scenes before 1997, and it was Shanghai who came from behind to break Guangdong's monopoly. However, both teams were weakened this time as a number of their players had joined the national team.

Today the two teams put up a close fight, with Guangdong having the edge on Shanghai by merely two points. As luck would have it, Guangdong grabbed the bronze medal as several shots from Shanghai hit the crossbar.

Today's men's final saw host China being pitted against Australia, fourth place-finishers at the World Championships and bronze medalists at the World Cup. According to yesterday's Olympic water polo grouping, China, at Beijing 2008, will have to beat Australia before it can vie with other opponents for the top 10 places. Today's final match, therefore, became a dress rehearsal of the Olympic competition.

Just as expected, Australia had the upper hand over the host team in all aspects, earning 12 goals in spite of the fact that they had many substitutes play for most of the time. China, for its part, did its very best by once leading in the second quarter and upsetting their opponents' attacks from time to time. It was a pity they failed to maintain such tight defense throughout the match.

To many people in the know, the Chinese team showed great potentialities for the sport. However, if they want to outplay such strong teams as Australia in the near future, they have to bring out their best while constantly improving their own strength through more competitions. Since Wang Minhui took over as the team's head coach, the Chinese national team has made remarkable improvement, regaining the Asiad title at the 2006 Asian Games after a lapse of 16 years. It is the belief of many that this young contingent will redouble their efforts in their pre-Olympic training so that they will be able to bring more pleasant surprises to home fans at the Beijing Games.