Radio România Internațional

Tag: champions

Sports Flash

Only one Romanian player is still in the competition at the Miami WTA 1000 women’s tennis tournament. Qualified straight into the second round, seed no. 19 Sorana Cîrstea is set to play against Sloane Stephens (US). The Romanian athletes who played in the first round were outperformed as early as on Tuesday. Simona Halep was defeated by Paula Badosa (Spain), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, Ana Bogdan lost 2-6, 4-6 to Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic), and Jaqueline Cristian was outperformed by France’s Diane Parry, 7-6, 6-2.

At the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Julia Sauter, representing Romania, failed to qualify for the free programme stage, after she came out 27th in the short programme with 52.52 points. Only the top 24 scorers moved up into the next stage. The highest score, 76.98 points, was won by Loena Hendrickx (Belgium), followed by Isabeau Levito (US) and by Haein Lee (South Korea).

On Friday, Romania’s national football team play against Northern Ireland at the National Arena in Bucharest, in the first friendly this spring. The match is part of Romania’s training programme for the European Championships hosted by Germany this summer.

Ahead of the game, manager Edward Iordănescu said he was rather concerned with the players who do not get to play a lot in their club teams abroad. Several Romanian players have been recently transferred to top-level European clubs, such as Radu Drăgușin to Tottenham, and the goalie Horațiu Moldovan to Atletico Madrid, but they are far from proving their worth in the new teams.

Iordănescu emphasised that he relied on continuity and consistency, and explained he could not make dramatic changes in line-up just one step before the final tournament. After the match against Northern Ireland, Romania’s team will travel to Spain to play another friendly in Madrid on Tuesday against Columbia. Prior to the EURO, Romania will also play 2 friendly matches in Bucharest, on 4 June against Bulgaria, and on the 8 June against Liechtenstein. (AMP)

21 March 2024
Radio Romania International Sports club

The Romanian
Wolves rugby team as part of the Rugby Europe Super Cup Competition’s Group B
in its debut fixture trounced Czech Republic’s Bohemia Rugby Warriors, 76-7. The Romanian Wolves succeeded 11 tries, of which eight
were successfully converted. In Group B’s other match, Brussels Devils defeated The Netherlands’ Delta, 41-12.
The Romanian Wolves’ upcoming fixtures are the away ties against Delta and the Brussels
Devils, on November 11 and 12, and on November 18 and 19, respectively.

The first two teams qualify to the
semifinals, to be played on December 2nd and 3rd, while
the finals are scheduled on December 16 and 17. Head-coached by Romania national team’s
selector, Eugen Apjok, The Romanian Wolves have had a 24-strong pool of regulars,
made of rugby players from Romania, Georgia and Tonga. The lineup included the
following rugby players: 1. James Scott, 2. Levan Papidze, 3. Revazi Dugladze,
4. Mate Dardzulidze, 5. Ştefan Iancu, 6. Alexandru Alexe, 7. Nicolas Immelman (captain),
8. Beka Biţadze, 9. Vlăduţ Bocăneţas who made
the forwards pack, 10. Nikau
McGrecor Murray, 23. Kefentse Mahlo, 12. Jason Tomane, 13. Abele Atunaisa, 14.
Mihai Lămboiu, 15. Paul Popoaia who were the quarterbacks, while substitute
players were 16. Robert Irimescu, 17. Mihai Dico, 18. Sandro Zubaşvili, 19.
Florian Roşu, 20. Andrei Schutz, 21. Alexandru Ţiglă, 22. Alexandru Harasim,
24. Taliauli Sikuea.

In the competition’s
Group A there are Georgia’s champions Black Lion, vice-champions Tel Aviv Heat of
Israel, Lusitanos of Portugal and Castilla y Leon Iberians of Spain. In Group A’s
first two fixtures, Black Lion defeated Castilla y Leon Iberians, 39-19, while Lusitanos
sustained a 23-31 home defeat by Tel Aviv Heat.

8 November 2023
Sports flash

Matches
counting towards the U-21 European Football Championship’s final tournament
kick-started in Romania and Georgia this past Wednesday. In Bucharest, Romania
sustained a nil-3 defeat by Spain. Also in Bucharest, Ukraine defeated Croatia,
2-nil. In Georgia’s Tbilisi, host country
squad grabbed a 2-nil win against Portugal, while the match pitting The Netherlands
against Belgium ended in an unassuming blank draw.

Also in
news from football, the Romanian teams know who their opponents are, in the European
competitions’ preliminaries. In the Champions League’s first preliminary round,
Farul Constanta goes against Republic of Moldova title holders Sheriff
Tiraspol. Gheorghe Hagi’s trainees play the first leg on home turf in Ovidiu, on
July 11 or 12, while the return leg will be played in Chisinau, on July 18 or
19. In the Europa Conference League’s second preliminary round, FCSB and Sepsi
OSK Sfântu Gheorghe play Bulgarian teams PFC ŢSKA Sofia and FC ŢSKA 1948 Sofia,
respectively. Both legs of the tie are scheduled abroad for the Romanian
teams, on July 27, while the return legs are scheduled on August 3rd on home turf. CFR Cluj takes on Turkey’s Adana Demirspor, with the first leg of the tie
scheduled in Cluj Napoca, on July 27.

In the
Champions League in women’s handball’s next edition, two teams will represent Romania.
Apart from holders CSM Bucharest,
the vice-champion team, Rapid, also got through. We recall that in the League’s
previous edition both
CSM and Rapid reached as far as the quarterfinals, However, in the men’s
version of the League, Dinamo Bucharest’s application to play in the Champions League
was turned down. Holders Dinamo Bucharest will play in the EHF league the next
season.

As part of the European Games in Krakow, Romania’s
women’s three-ex-three basketball team is at the top of the table in Group B,
after the first two fixtures. On Wednesday, Romania defeated Austria, 17-14, and
Germany, 15-13. On Friday, Romania will play its last group match, the fixture
against Greece. The first two teams in descending order advance to the quarterfinals.

22 June 2023
Sports flash

Matches
counting towards the U-21 European Football Championship’s final tournament
kick-started in Romania and Georgia this past Wednesday. In Bucharest, Romania
sustained a nil-3 defeat by Spain. Also in Bucharest, Ukraine defeated Croatia,
2-nil. In Georgia’s Tbilisi, host country
squad grabbed a 2-nil win against Portugal, while the match pitting The Netherlands
against Belgium ended in an unassuming blank draw.

Also in
news from football, the Romanian teams know who their opponents are, in the European
competitions’ preliminaries. In the Champions League’s first preliminary round,
Farul Constanta goes against Republic of Moldova title holders Sheriff
Tiraspol. Gheorghe Hagi’s trainees play the first leg on home turf in Ovidiu, on
July 11 or 12, while the return leg will be played in Chisinau, on July 18 or
19. In the Europa Conference League’s second preliminary round, FCSB and Sepsi
OSK Sfântu Gheorghe play Bulgarian teams PFC ŢSKA Sofia and FC ŢSKA 1948 Sofia,
respectively. Both legs of the tie are scheduled abroad for the Romanian
teams, on July 27, while the return legs are scheduled on August 3rd on home turf. CFR Cluj takes on Turkey’s Adana Demirspor, with the first leg of the tie
scheduled in Cluj Napoca, on July 27.

In the
Champions League in women’s handball’s next edition, two teams will represent Romania.
Apart from holders CSM Bucharest,
the vice-champion team, Rapid, also got through. We recall that in the League’s
previous edition both
CSM and Rapid reached as far as the quarterfinals, However, in the men’s
version of the League, Dinamo Bucharest’s application to play in the Champions League
was turned down. Holders Dinamo Bucharest will play in the EHF league the next
season.

As part of the European Games in Krakow, Romania’s
women’s three-ex-three basketball team is at the top of the table in Group B,
after the first two fixtures. On Wednesday, Romania defeated Austria, 17-14, and
Germany, 15-13. On Friday, Romania will play its last group match, the fixture
against Greece. The first two teams in descending order advance to the quarterfinals.

22 June 2023
Sports Roundup

The
Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea won the WTA 100 held in Reus, Spain. On
Sunday she defeated Elizabeth Mandlik (US) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6. For this achievement,
Sorana was awarded EUR 13,000 and 160 WTA points. Another performance for
Romanian tennis players last week was Gabriela Ruse’s qualifying into the
semi-finals of the doubles competition of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, together
with Marta Kostiuk (Ukraine). The two athletes were defeated by seeds no. 1 Jessica
Pegula / Coco Gauff (US), 7-5, 7-6 in the match for the final. Ruse and Kostiuk
received 390 WTA points.

Both teams
representing Romania at the women’s handball Champions League left the
competition after the quarter-finals. On Saturday, Rapid Bucharest lost to Vipers
Kristiansand 40 – 31 in Norway, after Vipers had already won the first leg of
the match, in Bucharest, 31-25. On Sunday, Team Esbjerg, of Denmark, beat CSM
Bucharest, 33-31, in the Romanian capital city, after a previous 32-28 win at
home. The Hungarian teams Győr and Ferencváros are the other 2 teams qualified
into the final tournament of the Champions League, scheduled for June in
Budapest.

This
weekend saw the start of the largest chess tournament hosted by Bucharest:
Superbet Chess Classic Romania. Scores of the world’s top chess players are
taking part. Romania is represented by Bogdan Deac and Richard Rapport. After 2
rounds, 3 players are top of the tables with 1.5 points: Wesley So (US), rusul Ian
Nepomniachtchi (Russia) and Richard Rapport. The tournament offers USD 350,000
in total prize money and is the first round of the 2023 Grand Chess Tour.

Matches
were played over the weekend counting for the 7th leg of the play-off
/ play-out round of the Romanian football SuperLeague. In the play-out, on
Friday FC Voluntari Mioveni 1-0, and Petrolul defeated Chindia Târgovişte, 2-1.
On Saturday, FC Botoşani drew against Universitatea Clu, 0-0, with the last two
matches, pitting Hermannstadt against FC U Craiova and FC Argeş against UTA
Arad, scheduled for Monday.

In the
play-offs, on Saturday Farul Constanţa thrashed Rapid Bucharest, 7-2, while on
Sunday CFR Cluj and Universitatea Craiova drew, 1-1. In the last match of this
leg, FCSB are facing Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe in Bucharest on Monday. Top of the
standings so far are Farul Constanta, with 46 points, followed by FCSB (40). (AMP)

8 May 2023
Sports Roundup

The
Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea won the WTA 100 held in Reus, Spain. On
Sunday she defeated Elizabeth Mandlik (US) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6. For this achievement,
Sorana was awarded EUR 13,000 and 160 WTA points. Another performance for
Romanian tennis players last week was Gabriela Ruse’s qualifying into the
semi-finals of the doubles competition of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, together
with Marta Kostiuk (Ukraine). The two athletes were defeated by seeds no. 1 Jessica
Pegula / Coco Gauff (US), 7-5, 7-6 in the match for the final. Ruse and Kostiuk
received 390 WTA points.

Both teams
representing Romania at the women’s handball Champions League left the
competition after the quarter-finals. On Saturday, Rapid Bucharest lost to Vipers
Kristiansand 40 – 31 in Norway, after Vipers had already won the first leg of
the match, in Bucharest, 31-25. On Sunday, Team Esbjerg, of Denmark, beat CSM
Bucharest, 33-31, in the Romanian capital city, after a previous 32-28 win at
home. The Hungarian teams Győr and Ferencváros are the other 2 teams qualified
into the final tournament of the Champions League, scheduled for June in
Budapest.

This
weekend saw the start of the largest chess tournament hosted by Bucharest:
Superbet Chess Classic Romania. Scores of the world’s top chess players are
taking part. Romania is represented by Bogdan Deac and Richard Rapport. After 2
rounds, 3 players are top of the tables with 1.5 points: Wesley So (US), rusul Ian
Nepomniachtchi (Russia) and Richard Rapport. The tournament offers USD 350,000
in total prize money and is the first round of the 2023 Grand Chess Tour.

Matches
were played over the weekend counting for the 7th leg of the play-off
/ play-out round of the Romanian football SuperLeague. In the play-out, on
Friday FC Voluntari Mioveni 1-0, and Petrolul defeated Chindia Târgovişte, 2-1.
On Saturday, FC Botoşani drew against Universitatea Clu, 0-0, with the last two
matches, pitting Hermannstadt against FC U Craiova and FC Argeş against UTA
Arad, scheduled for Monday.

In the
play-offs, on Saturday Farul Constanţa thrashed Rapid Bucharest, 7-2, while on
Sunday CFR Cluj and Universitatea Craiova drew, 1-1. In the last match of this
leg, FCSB are facing Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe in Bucharest on Monday. Top of the
standings so far are Farul Constanta, with 46 points, followed by FCSB (40). (AMP)

8 May 2023
Athlete of the week

Romanias handball side Rapid Bucharest achieved a top-notch performance on Sunday. Romanias defending champions have for the first time qualified for the Champions Leagues quarter finals since this major competition has taken place in the present format. Rapid won the European Champions Cup in 1964, the IHF in 1993 and the City Cup in 2000. It has presently joined the competitions first eight sides after a 30-24 win against Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana.

Rapid had to cover a five-goal difference, as the first match in Slovenia ended 29-24 to the hosts. Estavana Polman proved to be Rapids best player with 8 goals scored but according to experts the one who made the real difference was Sorina Grozav. The young player has arrested the attention of the official site of the European Handball Federation eurohandball.com, for the four goals scored in the end of the game, which titled the balance in favour of the Romanian side. For the contribution she had in the victory of her side, Radio Romania International has designated Sorina Grozav athlete of the week.

Sorina Grozav was born in Râmnicu Vâlcea, southwestern Romania on 27th May 1999, in a family of athletes. Her mother, Mariana Tîrcă, has been a local handball legend with 335 caps for the national side and no less than 2043 goals scored, which is a world record with a national side. Sorina started off on the right foot in handball as a junior in the lineup of a local highschool, which boasted a special training center at that time.

She made her debut in senior competitions at the age of 16 with Corona Brasov, an ambitious side in southern Romania. In 2021, she was borrowed by Rapid Bucharest, a team which eventually hired her for good in 2022. She won her first cap for the national handball side in 2016 during the Carpathians Trophy held in Cluj Napoca, western Romania.

(bill)

28 March 2023
Athlete of the week

Romanias handball side Rapid Bucharest achieved a top-notch performance on Sunday. Romanias defending champions have for the first time qualified for the Champions Leagues quarter finals since this major competition has taken place in the present format. Rapid won the European Champions Cup in 1964, the IHF in 1993 and the City Cup in 2000. It has presently joined the competitions first eight sides after a 30-24 win against Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana.

Rapid had to cover a five-goal difference, as the first match in Slovenia ended 29-24 to the hosts. Estavana Polman proved to be Rapids best player with 8 goals scored but according to experts the one who made the real difference was Sorina Grozav. The young player has arrested the attention of the official site of the European Handball Federation eurohandball.com, for the four goals scored in the end of the game, which titled the balance in favour of the Romanian side. For the contribution she had in the victory of her side, Radio Romania International has designated Sorina Grozav athlete of the week.

Sorina Grozav was born in Râmnicu Vâlcea, southwestern Romania on 27th May 1999, in a family of athletes. Her mother, Mariana Tîrcă, has been a local handball legend with 335 caps for the national side and no less than 2043 goals scored, which is a world record with a national side. Sorina started off on the right foot in handball as a junior in the lineup of a local highschool, which boasted a special training center at that time.

She made her debut in senior competitions at the age of 16 with Corona Brasov, an ambitious side in southern Romania. In 2021, she was borrowed by Rapid Bucharest, a team which eventually hired her for good in 2022. She won her first cap for the national handball side in 2016 during the Carpathians Trophy held in Cluj Napoca, western Romania.

(bill)

28 March 2023
Sports Flash

The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea started off on the right foot at the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami. In the first round, she defeated Fernanda Contreras Gomez, of Mexico, 7-6, 6-2. In the next round, she will take on no 4 in the world, Caroline Garcia, of France, whom she defeated last week in the Indian Wells eighth-finals, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Also on Wednesday, Ana Bogdan lost to the US player Robin Montgomery, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In the first leg of the playoffs for the mens handball Champions League quarter-finals, Dinamo Bucharest played at home against the German side THW Kiel. The guests won, 41 – 28, the harshest defeat for the Romanian champions this season. The second leg is scheduled next Wednesday in Kiel. The qualifying team will be facing the French side Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals.

CSM Lugoj lost the second leg of the womens volleyball Challenge Cup final, against the Italian side Chieri. The Italians won in Timisoara on Wednesday, 3-0, the same score reported at the end of the first leg in Turin as well. CSM Lugoj was the 3rd Romanian team to reach the finals of the Challenge Cup, after CSM Bucharest, which won the trophy in 2016, and Volei Alba Blaj, which lost the final in 2021. For CSM Lugoj, this was the best season in history, the Challenge Cup final adding to their winning the Romanian Cup Winners Cup.

We wrap up today with basketball. U-BT Cluj-Napoca Wednesday lost at home to Ukraines Prometey Slobojanske, 96-87, in the last match at home in the EuroCup Group A. Irrespective of the result of the last match, against the German side Ulm, the Romanian champions will remain 9th in the group, and only the top 8 teams in each group qualify into the round of 16. (AMP)

23 March 2023
Sports Flash

The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea started off on the right foot at the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami. In the first round, she defeated Fernanda Contreras Gomez, of Mexico, 7-6, 6-2. In the next round, she will take on no 4 in the world, Caroline Garcia, of France, whom she defeated last week in the Indian Wells eighth-finals, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Also on Wednesday, Ana Bogdan lost to the US player Robin Montgomery, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In the first leg of the playoffs for the mens handball Champions League quarter-finals, Dinamo Bucharest played at home against the German side THW Kiel. The guests won, 41 – 28, the harshest defeat for the Romanian champions this season. The second leg is scheduled next Wednesday in Kiel. The qualifying team will be facing the French side Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals.

CSM Lugoj lost the second leg of the womens volleyball Challenge Cup final, against the Italian side Chieri. The Italians won in Timisoara on Wednesday, 3-0, the same score reported at the end of the first leg in Turin as well. CSM Lugoj was the 3rd Romanian team to reach the finals of the Challenge Cup, after CSM Bucharest, which won the trophy in 2016, and Volei Alba Blaj, which lost the final in 2021. For CSM Lugoj, this was the best season in history, the Challenge Cup final adding to their winning the Romanian Cup Winners Cup.

We wrap up today with basketball. U-BT Cluj-Napoca Wednesday lost at home to Ukraines Prometey Slobojanske, 96-87, in the last match at home in the EuroCup Group A. Irrespective of the result of the last match, against the German side Ulm, the Romanian champions will remain 9th in the group, and only the top 8 teams in each group qualify into the round of 16. (AMP)

23 March 2023
March 19, 2023 UPDATE

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis, currently
on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, Sunday travelled to Masdar
City, a model of sustainable urban development with solutions centered around
energy efficiency and environment protection. The Romanian official was presented
solutions for transport and urban cooling and ventilation, building energy
generation and optimum usage of natural light in schools and research
institutions. The solutions tested in Masdar City may be an inspiration for
other cities increasingly interested in sustainability, including in Romania. Contributions
to these solutions come, among others, from Romanian researchers as well,
affiliated to research institutes in Masdar City, the Romanian presidency said
in a news release. President Iohannis will be in the UAE until Tuesday, at the
invitation of his counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The main
goals of the visit include strengthening the political and diplomatic dialogue
on topics of mutual interest, encouraging bilateral economic relations, which
are already on a significant positive trend, and attracting investments in the
Romanian economy through projects in fields like infrastructure, energy,
climate change, cybersecurity and food security.

REFUGEES The Romanian Border Police Inspectorate General
announced that on Saturday as many as 86,342 people entered Romania using
border checkpoints around the country. Of them, 8,510 were Ukrainian nationals.
Since February 10, 2022, two weeks before the Russian invasion of their
country, nearly 3.8 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most of them have
travelled further on to western European countries, but around 100,000 of them
have chosen to stay in Romania, according to the authorities in Bucharest.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian diplomacy chief Bogdan Aurescu takes part on
Monday in the Foreign Affairs Council, a meeting of EU foreign ministers in
Brussels. He will also attend the joint meeting of EU foreign and defence
ministers, as well as in a conference of international donors for Turkey and
Syria, in the aftermath of the February earthquakes. The Foreign Affairs
Council will focus on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the dialogue between
Belgrade and Pristina, the situation in Tunisia and the latest developments in
Iran. Bogdan Aurescu will plead for continuing multidimensional support for Ukraine,
both at EU level and from the member states, with a focus on the quick
provision of military equipment and training for the Ukrainian army. According
to the Romanian foreign ministry, Mr. Aurescu will also support a consolidation
of the sanctions against Russia and a more efficient implementation of current
restrictions.

MILITARY Over 3,000 troops from Romania and 12 Allied and partner
states will take part in the Sea Shield 2023 multinational exercise, the most
complex event planned and spearheaded by the Romanian Navy this year. Taking
part in the event between March 20 and April 2 are forces from Albania,
Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Portugal, UK, the Netherlands, the Republic
of Moldova, Romania, the US and Turkey. The exercise contributes to promoting
Romania’s interests and initiatives at regional and international level, as
well as to enhancing inter-operability among the participating countries. Sea
Shield, a complex concept designed for the training of NATO forces, was
proposed by Romania at NATO’s summit in Warsaw in 2016, to boost security on
the Eastern flank.

HANDBALL Romania’s women’s handball champions, Rapid Bucharest, were
defeated on Sunday by Slovenia’s Krim Ljubljana, 29-24, in the first leg of the
playoffs for the Champions’ League quarter-finals. The second leg takes place
in Bucharest. This is Rapid’s first presence in the Champions’ League, and the
match against the Slovenian champions is also the team’s first march in European
competitions with the Danish manager Kim Rasmussen, who replaced Carlos Viver (Spain).
If they qualify into the quarter-finals, Rapid will be facing Kristiansand (Norway).
Romania’s vice-champions, CSM Bucharest, have already qualified into the
quarter-finals, where they will take on the winner of the playoff between the
French side Brest and the Danish team Esbjerg. (AMP)

19 March 2023
March 19, 2023

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis, currently
on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, has traveled today to Masdar
City, a model of sustainable urban development with solutions centered around
energy efficiency and environment protection. The Romanian official was presented
solutions for transport and urban cooling and ventilation, building energy
generation and optimum usage of natural light in schools and research
institutions. The solutions tested in Masdar City may be an inspiration for
other cities increasingly interested in sustainability, including in Romania. Contributions
to these solutions come, among others, from Romanian researchers as well,
affiliated to research institutes in Masdar City, the Romanian presidency said
in a news release. President Iohannis will be in the UAE until Tuesday, at the
invitation of his counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The main
goals of the visit include strengthening the political and diplomatic dialogue
on topics of mutual interest, encouraging bilateral economic relations, which
are already on a significant positive trend, and attracting investments in the
Romanian economy through projects in fields like infrastructure, energy,
climate change, cybersecurity and food security.

REFUGEES The Romanian Border Police Inspectorate General
announced that on Saturday as many as 86,342 people entered Romania using
border checkpoints around the country. Of them, 8,510 were Ukrainian nationals.
Since February 10, 2022, two weeks before the Russian invasion of their
country, nearly 3.8 million Ukrainian citizens entered Romania. Most of them have travelled
further on to western European countries, but around 100,000 of them have
chosen to stay in Romania, according to the authorities in Bucharest.

CHILDREN Border police prevented over 5,300 Romanian
underage nationals from crossing the border out of the country in 2022, because
their parents or the adults accompanying them were unable to produce the
documents required for taking minors out of the country. The interior ministry
announced on Sunday that the number is twice as big as in the previous year. Also,
since the beginning of 2023, more than 800 Romanian minors have been stopped at
the border because they lacked valid travel documents, the accompanying parent
lacked the consent of the other parent or because the adults accompanying them,
other than their parents, failed to present clear criminal records. Under the
law, underage Romanian nationals can only leave the country based on a valid
travel document, passport or identity card, provided that they are accompanied
by an adult and have the consent of their parents.

RUGBY Romania’s
national rugby team takes on Spain today in a match for the 3rd
place in Rugby Europe Championship 2023, the second-tier European competition
after Six Nations. The match is played in Badajoz, Spain. The competition final,
pitting Georgia against Portugal, is played tonight as well. In August Romania’s
rugby team is scheduled to play test matches against Georgia and Italy, ahead
of the World Cup in France, organised between September 8 and October 28. Romania will play in Group B, alongside Ireland, South Africa,
Scotland and Tonga.

HANDBALL Romania’s women’s handball champions, Rapid Bucharest, are
playing today away from home against Slovenia’s Krim Ljubljana, in the first
leg of the playoffs for the Champions’ League quarter-finals. The second leg
takes place in Bucharest. This is Rapid’s first presence in the Champions’
League, and the match against the Slovenian champions is also the team’s first
march in European competitions with the Danish manager Kim Rasmussen, who
replaced Carlos Viver (Spain). 150 Romanian fans will attend the game. If they
qualify into the quarter-finals, Rapid will be facing Kristiansand (Norway). Romania’s
vice-champions, CSM Bucharest, have already qualified into the quarter-finals,
where they will take on the winner of the playoff between the French side Brest
and the Danish team Esbjerg. (AMP)

19 March 2023
Sports Weekend

In the first leg of the play-offs for the eighth-finals of the football Conference League, on Thursday, CFR Cluj lost to Lazio Rome, away from home, 0-1. The only goal of the match was scored by Ciro Immobile, in the first half overtime. The Italian side were down to ten men, after Patric was sent off for a foul on Ermal Krasniqi on 15 minutes. Dan Petrescus team nonetheless failed to take advantage of the situation. The second leg will be played next Thursday in Cluj-Napoca.

Also in football, this weekend the 26th round of the Romanian Super League is played. After 2 matches on Friday, Chindia Târgovişte vs. Universitatea Cluj and CS Mioveni vs. Rapid Bucharest, on Saturday Hermannstadt take on UTA Arad on home turf, and Farul Constanţa face Petrolul Ploieşti. On Sunday, CFR play against FC Argeş, while FCSB meet Universitatea Craiova. The last 2 matches of this round are scheduled for Monday, pitting FC Botoşani against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and FC U Craiova against FC Voluntari. Top of the tables at this time are Farul, with 52 points, followed by CFR, 2 points behind.

Two rounds before the end of the group stage in mens handball Champions League, Dinamo Bucharest has secured a spot in the play-offs for the quarter-finals. The Romanian champions, currently ranking 5th in Group A, are moving forward, after losing 33-26 to group leaders Paris Saint-Germain in France on Thursday. Next week they are taking on the Danish side Gudme in Bucharest.

And in Rugby Europe Championship, Group B, Romania plays this Saturday away from home against Portugal. Both teams are already qualified for the competitions semis and are playing for the top place in the group, which secures them a home match in the semi-finals against the second-ranking team in Group A. (AMP)

17 February 2023
Sports Weekend

In the first leg of the play-offs for the eighth-finals of the football Conference League, on Thursday, CFR Cluj lost to Lazio Rome, away from home, 0-1. The only goal of the match was scored by Ciro Immobile, in the first half overtime. The Italian side were down to ten men, after Patric was sent off for a foul on Ermal Krasniqi on 15 minutes. Dan Petrescus team nonetheless failed to take advantage of the situation. The second leg will be played next Thursday in Cluj-Napoca.

Also in football, this weekend the 26th round of the Romanian Super League is played. After 2 matches on Friday, Chindia Târgovişte vs. Universitatea Cluj and CS Mioveni vs. Rapid Bucharest, on Saturday Hermannstadt take on UTA Arad on home turf, and Farul Constanţa face Petrolul Ploieşti. On Sunday, CFR play against FC Argeş, while FCSB meet Universitatea Craiova. The last 2 matches of this round are scheduled for Monday, pitting FC Botoşani against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and FC U Craiova against FC Voluntari. Top of the tables at this time are Farul, with 52 points, followed by CFR, 2 points behind.

Two rounds before the end of the group stage in mens handball Champions League, Dinamo Bucharest has secured a spot in the play-offs for the quarter-finals. The Romanian champions, currently ranking 5th in Group A, are moving forward, after losing 33-26 to group leaders Paris Saint-Germain in France on Thursday. Next week they are taking on the Danish side Gudme in Bucharest.

And in Rugby Europe Championship, Group B, Romania plays this Saturday away from home against Portugal. Both teams are already qualified for the competitions semis and are playing for the top place in the group, which secures them a home match in the semi-finals against the second-ranking team in Group A. (AMP)

17 February 2023
Sports Roundup

The
Romanian athlete Andreea Grecu won the silver medal in the women’s monobob
event at the IBSF European Championships held in Altenberg, Germany. She finished
the race in 2’02”45, and was outperformed by Germany’s Laura Nolte, with
2’01”13. In the World Cup ranking in Altenberg, the first place went to
Kaillie Humphries, of the US, with 2’00”61, with Grecu coming in 6th.

The
Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest qualified into the Champions’
League quarter-finals. Two legs prior to the end of the group stage, the
Romanian vice-champions are top of Group A with 21 points. Second comes the
Norwegian team Vipers Kristiansand, with 19 points. The two sides have secured
a place in the quarter-finals, given that the 3rd-ranking team, Odense
(Denmark) only have 14 points. On Sunday, CSM defeated the German team Bietigheim
27 – 25 away from home. Malin Larsen Aune (Norway) was the Romania side’s best
scorer, with 6 goals. Cristina Neagu scored 5 times and went over the threshold
of 1,000 goals in the Champions’ League.

In Group B
of the same competition, Rapid Bucharest defeated Turkey’s champions,
Kastamonu, 28 – 22. The Dutch Estavana Polman scored 6 times for the Romanian
team, followed by Eliza Buceschi with 5 goals. Top of the group is the French
side Metz, with 21 points, followed by 3 teams with 18 points each: Győr (Hungary),
Esbjerg (Denmark) and Rapid. The top 2 teams in each group will go straight
into the quarter-finals, with the teams on the 3rd, 4th,
5th and 6th places moving into the playoffs.

In the EHF
European League, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea lost to Thüringer, in Germany, 31 – 38. The
German side tops Group D, with 6 points in 3 matches. Vâlcea comes 2nd
with 2 points, and so do 2 other teams, Paris 92 (France) and Vác (Hungary).

We wrap up
with news from football. In the 22nd leg of the Romanian Super
League, Universitatea Cluj Friday beat FC Voluntari 2-1, and Rapid Bucharest
defeated Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 3-0. On Saturday, CS Mioveni won at home against
Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, and FC Botoşani defeated Universitatea Craiova 1-0 at
home. On Sunday, FC U Craiova drew at home against UTA Arad (1-1), and FCSB won
1-0 against Hermannstadt in Sibiu. Before this leg, Farul Constanta was first
placed in the ranking, with 45 points, followed by CFR Cluj with 44. (AMP)

23 January 2023