2019 was a pre-Olympic year marked by
competitions meant to ensure tickets for the Olympic Games in Japan. Although
2019 wasn’t a good year in term of performances obtained by the Romanian
athletes, there were several performances, which are worth mentioning. Let’s
have a look at the main sporting events of the first half of 2019.
The month of January saw a fresh
edition of Australian Open where the best Romanian player in the competition, Simona
Halep, was eliminated by Serena Williams in the round of 16. The US challenger
won the match 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
At the European Fencing Cup in
Italy Romania was represented by the team of the Army’s Sports Club Steaua
Bucharest made up of Ana-Maria Popescu, Alexandra Predescu, Greta Veres and
Raluca Sbarcia, who obtained the bronze medals.
In February, a pair made up of
Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu won the doubles of the WTA tennis tournament in
Hua Hin, Thailand, a competition with 250 thousand dollars in prize money. The
Romanians outperformed in the finals the Russian-Chinese pair Ana Blinkova /
Yafan Wang 2-6, 6-1 and 12-10 in super tie-break. That was the second WTA title
won by Begu and Niculescu after the one in Hobart in 2012. In February Simona
Helep made it to the finals of the tennis tournament in Doha where she lost to
Belgian challenger Elise Mertens in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Alina Rotaru obtained the best
result for the Romanian delegation at the European indoor athletics
championship held in Glasgow, the fifth position in the ranking of the long
jump event with 6 meters and 64 centimeters.
Ana Maria Popescu won the Epee
Grand Prix in Budapest after defeating Young Mi Kang of South Korea in the
finals.
Shooters from Romania obtained two
medals at the European Championship 10 m held in Croatia. Laura Coman reaped
gold in the rifle event and the Romanian women’s team came third in the same
event of the aforementioned competition.
Weight-lifters from Romania
obtained excellent results in the European Weightlifting Championship held in
Batumi, Georgia. Athletes from our country walked away with 14 medals out of
which 6 were gold. The gold medalists were Elena Andries and Loredana Toma in
the 49 and 64 kilograms categories.
At the European Wrestling
Championships in Bucharest, Romania obtained four medals. In the women’s
contest, Kriszta Incze won silver in the 65 kilogram category while Andreea
Beatrice Ana obtained bronze in the 55 kilograms. In the men’s contest, the
Greco-Roman style, FlorinTita of Romania walked away with silver in the 55
kilogram category while Alin Alexuc Ciurariu reaped bronze in the 130
kilograms.
The Romanian delegation walked away
with no medals from the European Gymnastics Championships held in the Polish
city of Szczecin in April.
The Romanian women’s tennis side
lost to France in Rouen 2-3. Halep scored for Romania in the matches against Kristina
Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia. The decisive match was the doubles when Halep
and Niculescu lost to Garcia and Mladenovic.
Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer won
the double contest of the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid. The Romanian-Dutch pair
defeated Argentinean Diego Schwartzman and Austrian Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-3. In
the single contest, Simona Halep of Romania made it to the finals where she conceded
defeat to Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4. Romania’s handball side CSM Bucharest won the
Challenge Cup in May after a 22-all away draw and 26-20 home win.
CFR Cluj won the domestic football
championship while Viitorul Constanta walked away with Romania’s Cup after a
2-1 win against Astra Giurgiu in the finals.
Rowers from Romania walked away
with 6 medals from the European Rowing Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Romania’s teams of eight ended on the first position and kept their continental
title while silver went to our men’s, women’s pairs and our women’s four.
Romania came third in the men’s double sculls.
Minsk in Belarus hosted the
European Games where Romania obtained two gold medals, three silver and five
bronze. The gold medalists were Laura Georgeta Coman in the ten meter rifle,
and the Romanian pair made up of Catalin Chirila and Victor Mihalachi in the
1000 meter race. Dacian Barna and Andreea Bogati reaped silver in the aerobic
gymnastics mixed event and so did Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs in the
mixed doubles of the table tennis contest.
A Romanian women’s team made up of
Bernadette Szocs, Elisabeta Samara and Daniela Dodean walked away with silver
from the team’s contest. Sambo wrestlers Daniela Poroineanu, Anda Mihaela
Valvoi, Alina Petronela Paunescu ended on the third position in the standings.
Also bronze went to Romania’s aerobic gymnasts in the group contest. Krista
Incze won bronze in the wrestling contest of the 62 kilogram category
(translated by bill)