It's 'go time': Canadian women's water polo team embraces underdog role in quest for Olympic spot

In their final quest to qualify for a second-straight Olympics in Paris this summer, the Canadian women's water polo team is happy to fly under the radar.

"Some people believe that as Canadians we're not the most strong-willed or we're always apologizing or things like that," team captain Emma Wright said on a recent call.

"People underestimate us as a team because we're Canadian and we hope to use that to our advantage."

Only two Olympic berths are up for grabs at the world aquatic championships in Doha this month. Half of the 16 women's teams competing have already locked up their berths for Paris, so Canada needs to be one of the top two finishers of those yet to qualify to book their Olympic ticket.

"The biggest challenge is it's not a direct path at these world championships," national team head coach David Paradelo said. "There are a lot of variables and a lot of things that can happen through the games that we're playing and the results of other games. It's not a straight line."

Going by world rankings and recent results, it'll be a three-way battle for those two spots between Canada, reigning world championship bronze medallists Italy, and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists Hungary.

The Canadians are slotted in Group D along with the Italians. Canada opens against South Africa on Sunday, Great Britain Tuesday and Italy Thursday.

CBC Sports will live stream action from the World Aquatics Championships on CBC Gem, the CBC Sports app, and on CBCSports.ca. Click here for the full broadcast schedule from Doha.

The top team in each of the four groups advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the runner-up goes to a one-game playoff for a spot in the quarters.

While the world may underestimate the Canadian team, a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to make them as prepared and competitive as possible. You could say their secret ingredient is togetherness.

Considering this is a team that turned over half its roster since the last Olympics in Tokyo, that's an impressive feat.

Gone from the team that finished seventh at Tokyo 2020 are Joëlle Békhazi, Kyra Christmas, Monika Eggens, Kelly McKee and Claire Wright, who all retired, while Gurpreet Sohi is currently in medical school.

With so many fresh faces joining the team in the last 18 months, the squad teamed up with mental performance coach Sommer Christie, who also works with the Canadian wheelchair rugby team, to help build cohesiveness within the group.

"It was difficult at the beginning with so many new people and just that range of experience on our team," Wright said.