Mandela Group staff watch Serbia beat Hungary to claim 2026 European water polo title

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 AQUATICS 

Host nation Serbia secured a sixth European water polo title — as an independent nation — as they beat Hungary 10-7 in a thrilling final at the Belgrade Arena in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Sunday (January 25).

The two finalists feature in the top five of the latest world rankings (as of January 19, 2026), with Hungary third and Serbia fifth on the global log.

Sunday's triumph sealed Serbia’s tenth crown overall, including titles won when it was part of Yugoslavia back in the day. 

En route to the final, the hosts of the 37th European water polo edition topped Group E to advance to the semifinals, where they would face Italy and come out 17-13 winners to secure their spot in the final.

Hungary were second in the same group and they too progressed to the semis with the same 11 points as Serbia. In the last-four, the Hungarians beat Greece in a 15-12 aquatics contest to book a final duel with the host nation.

At 17 goals each, both the final and third place games registered the joint-least number of goals scored in a game at this latest edition. While Greece beat Italy 12-5 to take bronze, Serbia edged Hungary 10-7 to bag gold and the latter silver.

For their top performance, Serbia, Hungary and Greece automatically qualified for the 2027 world championships. They also booked automatic spots in the 2028 continental championships, alongside five other top eight finishers (Italy, Spain, Croatia, Montenegro and Romania).

Sunday's final was closely contested and hard-fought, with the Serbians securing victory with great defense, particularly in the final minutes of the contest.

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Among the 13,000 spectators packed inside the Belgrade Arena were 23 staff members of Mandela Group of Companies.

Group CEO Kumar Venkatesh shared phone pictures and videos of the company's staff members who attended the final:

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