For the first time in its history, the ladies’ water polo team KINEF-Surgutneftegas is holding the championship of Russia. The team’s athletes are proud to add the XI Open Championship’s golden medals to their last year’s bronze.

Out of those nine teams, who had started to fight for the first prize in January, only four managed to get to the finals: KINEF-Surgutneftegas (Kirishi) and Evrazia-Rakhat (Astana, Kazakhstan), Skif-MFP (Moscow) and Uralochka-ZMK (Zlatoust). In all matches of the Championship, the teams were vigorously striving for victory. The other five teams had dropped out of the race at different stages. These teams were Uralochka-2 (Chelyabinsk), Diana (Saint Petersburg), Olimp (Nizhny Novgorod), Volzhanka-Spartak (Saratov), Yunost’-RoAES (Volgodonsk).

The play-off finals took place in Kirishi and Moscow. At night of April 1, Kirishi saw the second match of the Championship, which turned out to be a decider. Two teams were competing for the gold medal: KINEF and Rakhat. The athletes from Kirishi won two matches out of three by 12:9 and 13:10.

Almost 10 years KINEF-Surgutneftegas’s athletes were working to reach this summit. Previously, the championship among ladies’ water polo teams had been held with varied success by Zlatoust’s Uralochka and Moscow’s Skif. Over the past few years, these two teams had been the champions and holders of the Cup of Russia. Now athletes from Kirishi can compete against their eminent rivals head-to-head. Playing in the matches of the XI Championship, Surgutneftegas’s swimmers showed their worth, giving a taste of their experience, venturousness, and will to win.

The History of the Team KINEF-Surgutneftegas

The team was organized 13 years ago. For several years now has it been a member of Russia’s Major Water Polo League. Only seven more teams can boast being in this league for several years in a row. The team KINEF-Surgutneftegas got bronze medals in Russia’s cup and two Russia’s championships. In 2002, for the first time in its life, Kirishi’s team took part in European Cup of Cups. However, proving that the first was not the worst, the team managed to get to the semi-finals. 

KINEF-Surgutneftegas’s swimmers are members of the youth and adult national teams. The athletes from Kirishi took part in world and European championships, international tournaments.

Late April this year, the city of Kirishi is to host the 2^nd International Water Polo Tournament. Last year’s First Tournament witnessed the victory of Russia’s First National Team, which also included KINEF-Surgutneftegas’s athletes.

Press Service of OJSC “Surgutneftegas”