In a strong showing at The World Games in Chengdu, the Great Britain men’s canoe polo team marked their return to the competition. They secured a commanding 12-2 victory over People’s Republic of China in the group stages, putting themselves in an excellent position going forward.
The men’s team have not competed at competition since they won a bronze medal twenty years ago at the debut of canoe polo at The World Games Germany 2005.
With a world ranking of fourth, Great Britain went into their first game as favourites, taking on a youthful Chinese squad.
Great Britain secured the ball from the first sprint, narrowly cutting off the Chinese team.
The first attempt at scoring saw Great Britain come close to an opening goal, with the ball hitting both posts.
However, China ultimately gained the upper hand, scoring the first goal to make it 0-1.
Santanum McCutcheon, the World Championship’s leading goal scorer, then levelled the score for Great Britain with a well-aimed throw.
China quickly regained possession, but a swift turnover led to a breakaway goal for GB from Kartik McCutcheon.
Now leading 2-1, GB sought to control the game. Captain Suryan McCutcheon quickly tossed the ball to Angus Boyle, extending the lead.
China attempted a shot on goal, but it hit the crossbar, returning possession to the British team.
Santanum then scored a second goal on the fast break, further widening the gap against the Chinese team.
Great Britain’s defence was formidable, preventing their opponents from easily scoring and forcing China to work hard to narrow the scores.
Santanam McCutcheon, once again capitalised on open space to secure his hat-trick after another deflected shot on goal kept the ball in play, allowing GB to maintain their offensive pressure.
Suryan intercepted a throw from China with his paddle, leading to a goal from the captain, bringing the score to 6-1, a comfortable lead for GB.
The next goal would come from China, with Chen Rong scoring another point for his country.
Moving quickly with the ball, the final goal of the first half was scored by Caleb Bowden of GB, with only three seconds left on the clock.
Half time: Great Britain 7 – 2 People’s Republic of China
The British team once again dominated the sprint in the second half, though a shot narrowly missed, hitting the side netting. Fergal McConvey then scored his first goal of the competition.
A strong save from the Chinese team deflected a shot from Suryan off their paddle sending it to Shivan McCutcheon.
McConvey found himself in the midst of the Chinese defence, another goal to his name bringing the score to 9-2.
Britain’s defensive prowess continued, effectively keeping the Chinese offense at bay and running down the clock.
Kartik seized a long toss to score, extending the British lead into double digits.
Despite a powerful shot from China, Shivan made a crucial paddle block from the centre of the goal, sending the ball out of bounds and conceding a corner.
Following a fast break, Kartik joined his brother in achieving a hat-trick.
China struggled to penetrate the British defence and get the ball near the post, resulting in another turnover.
With Great Britain back in possession, Alex Lowthorpe capitalised, scoring the final goal of the game with 51 seconds remaining.
Full time: Great Britain 12 – 2 People’s Republic of China
The British team will be back in action tomorrow as they face their final two games of the group stages.
They will first face Germany, later competing against Italy.
GER vs GBR – 4am (BST)
GBR vs ITA – 11:40am (BST)
If you want to catch the action yourself, the livestream is available here.
Team:
1 – Kartik McCutcheon
2 – Suryan McCutcheon (C)
3 – Caleb Bowden
4 – Alex Lowthorpe
5 – Angus Boyle
6 – Shivan McCutcheon
8 – Fergal McConvey
9 – Santanam McCutcheon