Water polo originated in UK and is known as "football-in-the-water".

The game is generally played in artificial swimming pools. A standard water polo pool for male competitions is 30.6 metres long and 20 metres wide, and one for female competitions is 25.6 metres long and 20 metres wide. The depth of water should be a minimum of 1.8 metres.

At each end of the pool, there is a 0.9-metre-high and 3-metre-wide goal whose frames are painted white.

The field of play is segmented into zones marked by coloured buoys along the side of the pool. The goal line and the mid-pool line are marked by white buoys. The red buoys on both sides of the goal and the sideline indicate the 2-metre area. Yellow buoys indicate the 6-metre area.

The water polo of the Hangzhou Asian Games will be held in Huanglong Sports Centre Swimming & Diving Centre from September 25 to October 7, where the athletes will compete for 2 gold medals.