Heartbreak for Aust water polo teams

The aim was gold, but a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss was all Australia's women's water polo team is taking away from Rio.

They at least made the quarter-finals, going one step further than the men, whose shock opening loss to Brazil condemned them to a group stage finish.

The Stingers had won bronze in Beijing and London, beating Hungary in both games.

This time the Hungarians had their revenge, winning 5-4 in a penalty shootout.

"It was about time they probably got one back on us," coach Greg McFadden said after the game.

"We had a good start but unfortunately we couldn't carry on with it."

The players had publicly targeted gold before the Games, but were devastated after captain Bronwen Knox missed her shot in the penalty shootout loss.

"I don't think it's the best ending for our sport," said a distraught vice-captain Rowie Webster.

"You fight for four quarters and then it comes down to slotting a goal.

"The one player feels bad for letting the team down but that's not the case; it's a team sport."

Forward Ash Southern was named to the team of the tournament, and the Australians finished sixth overall after losing to Spain 12-10 in the playoff.

The men's team had targeted a quarter-final berth and a potential play-off for a medal but an opening night 8-7 loss to Brazil effectively ended those hopes.

Despite a 9-9 draw with world powerhouse Hungary, a close loss to Serbia and a 12-7 thrashing of Greece, the Sharks were dumped out.

"We peaked a bit late in the tournament, that first one was the big one," Aaron Younger said.

"You can see our players getting better each game when they got used to Olympic experience but they were a bit blown away in the first game."

The United States defeated Italy 12-5 in the women's final to claim gold, while Serbia beat Croatia 9-5 in the men's final.