Water Polo - Team People's Republic of China

General
The People's Republic of China's tally of five gold medals in men's water polo at the Asian Games is only surpassed by Kazakhstan [six]. After winning silver on their debut at the Games in 1974, the Chinese team claimed gold at the following four editions between 1978 and 1990. Since then, Kazakhstan have won six of the seven gold medals on offer, their dominance only interrupted by a fifth Chinese triumph in 2006. The Chinese men have 11 total medals, which is only bettered by Japan's 15.

The 2018 Games saw the People's Republic of China miss out on the podium for the first time in their 12 Asian Games appearances. They bounced back from an opening game loss to Japan to finish second in their group and beat the Republic of Korea 12-4 in the quarterfinals. The team were then narrowly defeated 9-8 by eventual gold medallists Kazakhstan in the semifinals, before losing the bronze medal match to the Islamic Republic of Iran on a penalty shoot-out following an 8-8 draw.

The Chinese team were victorious at the 2023 Asian Water Polo Championships in Singapore. After winning all three of their matches in Group A, they overcame the Philippines in the quarterfinals and Kazakhstan at the semifinal stage on their way to triumphing in the final against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Chinese team also beat the Iranians at the 2022 edition of the tournament in the semifinals, before they lost in the final against Japan.

The People's Republic of China last competed at the Olympic Games as the host nation in 2008, when they finished 12th. It was their third appearance at the Games having debuted in 1984. The Chinese team returned to the world championships after eight years in 2023 in Fukuoka, where their only victory came in the 15th place play-off against South Africa. They had featured at seven consecutive world championships between 2003 and 2015, with a highest finish of 12th in that period [2009].