Canada's water polo women brimming with confidence ahead of world championships

With the Tokyo Olympic experience fresh on their minds, the Canadian water polo women can't wait to get a taste of international action again as the world aquatic championships get underway in Budapest, Hungary. 

After their first Olympic appearance in 16 years, where they finished seventh, the Canadian squad is brimming with new-found confidence. 

"We're at the world stage, we want to win every single game and go one game at a time," head coach David Paradelo said on a recent call from Karpenisi, Greece, where the team was putting in its final preparations ahead of the worlds. 

"We have the means to do it. We've been building the program for two and a half years now. We have a good returning squad from the last [Olympic] quad. We wouldn't be at the world championships if we weren't going into it trying to win every single game possible." 

Full coverage of the world aquatics championships begins on Saturday on CBC and CBCSports.ca. The Canadian women kick off their event on Monday against Italy at 3 p.m. ET.

Canada (ranked No. 6 in the world) is in Group A alongside two other top 10 nations, Italy (No. 10) and Hungary (No. 1), as well as Colombia. The winner of the group gets a bye directly to the quarter-finals. The second-place finisher in Group A plays the third-place team in Group B, while the third-place finisher plays the second-place finisher in Group B.

In the 10 months since Tokyo, it hasn't been all go-go-go for the Canadians. The team gave players flexibility to take time off after such an intense two-year Olympic preparation period under COVID protocols. 

That doesn't mean the players aren't ready for Budapest. 

They've had extended training camps in November, February and May leading up to the world championships. Plus, half the team plays professionally in Europe, while the other half is still in university, playing at the NCAA level or playing with Canadian club teams. 

Canada's medal record in the women's event includes two silver and two bronze, the last one being a silver in 2009 in Rome.

Leading the Canadian team will be a couple of lefties and members of the Tokyo 2020 team: Kyra Christmas of High River, Alta., who is fresh off winning the Euro League title with Olympiacos in Greece, and centre Emma Wright of Lindsay, Ont., who just wrapped up her NCAA career with University of Califronia, Berkeley. 

Canada heads into the world championships without a couple of veterans. Joelle Bekhazi and goaltender Claire Wright have retired, while captain Monika Eggens has taken the summer off. 

New players on the block include San Jose State alum Rae Lekness, a centre who played on the youth national teams but took time away from the sport, as well as 22-year-old driver Verica Bakoc, who finished her senior year at the University of Southern California and has shown promise in exhibition matches against the Netherlands. 

"It's a team game. We want a solid performance. Everyone is going to be key. Some teams may see our players differently so we'll have to adapt as we go," Paradelo said. "It'll be interesting to see how the teams react to all the tools that we have."