For Kazakhstan captain Yevgeniy Zhilyayev it was his third crown after previous victories in 1998 and 2002. For head coach Sergey Drozdov, victory went with his three titles as an athlete in 1994, 1998 and 2002. For goalkeeper Alexandr Svedov, it was his fourth visit to the dais for three gold and the 2006 bronze.
Powerful left-hander Pan Ning (CHN) scored four of China’s first five goals in the final and finished with 20 goals alongside Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Axenov.
Japan won the bronze medal with a 22-9 rout of Korea.