SINGAPORE, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China suffered a heavy 26-5 defeat to Greece in its second men's water polo Group D match at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Monday, marking a second straight loss in the preliminary stage.

World No. 19 China, runners-up at the Asian Water Polo Championships earlier this year, faced world No. 4 Greece, a seasoned team that finished second at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships and placed fifth at both the 2024 Doha Worlds and the Paris Olympic Games. Both sides entered the match looking for their first win in Singapore after opening-round losses.

Chinese goalkeeper Wu Honghui made an early impression with a penalty save, but Greece quickly found their rhythm and repeatedly broke through the defense. China struggled to build offensive momentum, with several attempts bouncing off the crossbar, and trailed 12-0 at halftime.

Wang Beiyi, Peng Jiahao and Chen Rui each found the net in the third quarter, but Greece's experience and technical superiority ensured continued dominance. The final score stood at 26-5.

Chen Zhongxian, who also scored for China, said the main takeaway was a clearer understanding of the gap between China and top European teams. He added that the team would reflect and work hard to close that gap.

"We are in the toughest group and all these three teams are much stronger," said China's head coach Ivan Asic. "And the problem is that we just started to train a month and a half ago. There is some potential, but it's a very big work ahead of us."

China will play Montenegro in their final group-stage match on Wednesday.

Running from July 11 to August 3 in Singapore, the 2025 World Aquatics Championships include six disciplines: diving, artistic swimming, water polo, high diving, swimming and open water swimming. ■