Radio România Internațional

Tag: cup

Sports weekend

Three Romanian football teams on Thursday played their first-leg fixtures in the Conference League’s European competition’s third preliminary round. Farul Constanta had no problem securing a 3-nil win against Estonian title holders Flora Tallinn. Scoring for the Romanians were Denis Alibec on 40 minutes, Constantin Budescu in minute 79 and Portuguese Diego Queiros in extra time. If they outperform Flora Tallin on aggregate, Farul take on the defeated team in the tie pitting Azeri team Qarabag against HJK Helsinki (Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi of Finland, two teams playing their fixture in Europa League’s third preliminary round. We recall Azeri team Qarabag won the first leg, 2-1.

On home turf, Romanian Cup holders Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Kazakhstan;s vice-champion team Aktobe drew, 1-all. The guest team’s Brazilian footballer Elder Santana scored on minute 65. One minute from time, Sepsi’s Roland Varga levelled the score. The leg in Kazakhstan is crucial for the two teams qualifying efforts. In the play-offs, the winning team will most likely play Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt, a team that defeated Armenia’s Piunik Yerevan, 3-nil.

On Steaua Stadium in Bucharest, with more than 27 thousand fans in the stands, FCSB took on Danish team Nordsjælland. The match ended in a blank draw, although Danish vice-champions were one man why on the pitch from minute 59, when the Danish team’s Burkinabese footballer Adamo Nagalo was eliminated. Should they succeed a win in Denmark, FCSB will then go against the winner of the match pitting Azeri Sabah against Partizan Belgrad. In the first leg Azeri team Sabah won, 2-nil.

This coming weekend will see matches being played, counting towards Romanian football Super League’s fifth round. On Friday, FC U Craiova 1948 take on FC Voluntari. On Saturday, Oţelul Galaţi play a home game against Universitatea Cluj. In Iaşi, the local side Politehnica face Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, an all-time derby is scheduled, pitting Rapid Bucharest against Petrolul Ploieşti. In Bucharest on Monday, Dinamo are pitted against FC Botoşani. Three fixtures were postponed, the one pitting FC Hermannstadt against FCSB, the match pitting CFR Cluj against Sepsi as well as the match pitting Farul against UTA Arad. After four rounds, FCSB are at the top of the table, with 12 points, followed by FC Voluntari, with 9.

11 August 2023
Radio Romania International Sports Club

The World Rugby Cup, to be held this coming autumn in France, is one of 2023s headline-hitting events. The audience is bound to be global, given that rugby is popular on almost all continents, perhaps less so in Asia. Rugby has for long gained ground in Europe, America, Australia and Oceania. Hailing from Africa are the Springboks. The South-African team is the current World Cup holders.

The World Cup begins on September 8, when the Stade de France in Paris plays host to the match pitting France against New Zealand. The fixture counts towards Group A, also including Italy, Uruguay and Namibia. On September 9 in Bordeaux, Romania plays its debut game against the Republic of Ireland. Also in Bordeaux, on September 17, Romanian takes on defending title holders South Africa. Then the game against Scotland follows, on September 30 in Lille. Romania s last fixture as part of the World Cup is the confrontation against Tonga on October 8th, also in Lille.

In its training stage ahead of the World Cup, on Saturday in Bucharest, Romania played the team of the United States. The Romanians were trounced, 17-31. The Romanian team scored three tries, of which only one was successfully converted. The US rugby players scored five times, while three of the tries were successfully converted. Ahead of its departure to France, Romania has two more games to play, against Georgia, in Tbilisi on Saturday and against Italy in San Benedetto del Tronto in a week. Romanias friendly games will decide the final, 33-strong pool of regulars representing Romania at the World Cup in France.

9 August 2023
Radio Romania International Sports club

The Romanian Football federation mulls banning Romanian
football fans from traveling to Kosovo as supporters of the national squad in
the match against Kosovo, a fixture scheduled in Pristina on June 16. The game
counts towards the Euro 2024 preliminaries. The decision could be taken in the
wake of the incidents that have been ongoing on the Serbian border.

In matches counting towards the Group
1’s last round as part of Romania Super league, the guest teams won all three
matches. On Saturday, FCSB were trounced by Rapid Bucharest, 1-5. On Sunday in Cluj-Napoca,
CFR sustained a 1-2 defeat by the new title holders, Farul Constanta. Universitatea
Craiova lost their home game against Romanian Cup winners, Sepsi Sfântu
Gheorghe, nil-1. According to the final rankings, FC Farul Constanța are at the
top of the table, with 53 points. Following in descending order are FCSB, with 46,
CFR Cluj, with 42, Universitatea Craiova with 40, Rapid Bucharest with 38 points
and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, with 29 points. Farul Constanța play for the
Champions League preliminaries, while FCSB play for Europe Conference League preliminaries.
In a fixture counting towards a second place in Europe Conference League preliminaries
on Thursday, CFR Cluj played Universitatea 1948 Craiova, a team coming from
Group 2. In the first eliminatory match Universitatea 1948 Craiova defeated FC
Voluntari, 4-3.

In Group 2, with 26 points, 13th-placed
was UTA Arad, while 14th-placed FC Argeș, with 24 points. The two
teams will play their playoffs fixtures if they want to maintain their position
in the Superleague. With 23 points, Chindia Targoviste was 15th-placed,
while CS Mioveni came in 16th, with 11 points. Chindia and Mioveni have relegated straight to the second-tier
championship. Politehnica Iași and Oțelul Galați au have been promote straight
to the Superleague.

In the playoff
fixtures counting towards promotion, the two legs have already been played. Gloria
Buzău ended the match against UTA Arad in a blank draw, while Dinamo București defeated
FC Argeș, 6-1. The coming weekend will see matches being played, counting
towards the second leg, in Arad and Pitesti, respectively.

31 May 2023
Radio Romania International Sports club

The Romanian Football federation mulls banning Romanian
football fans from traveling to Kosovo as supporters of the national squad in
the match against Kosovo, a fixture scheduled in Pristina on June 16. The game
counts towards the Euro 2024 preliminaries. The decision could be taken in the
wake of the incidents that have been ongoing on the Serbian border.

In matches counting towards the Group
1’s last round as part of Romania Super league, the guest teams won all three
matches. On Saturday, FCSB were trounced by Rapid Bucharest, 1-5. On Sunday in Cluj-Napoca,
CFR sustained a 1-2 defeat by the new title holders, Farul Constanta. Universitatea
Craiova lost their home game against Romanian Cup winners, Sepsi Sfântu
Gheorghe, nil-1. According to the final rankings, FC Farul Constanța are at the
top of the table, with 53 points. Following in descending order are FCSB, with 46,
CFR Cluj, with 42, Universitatea Craiova with 40, Rapid Bucharest with 38 points
and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, with 29 points. Farul Constanța play for the
Champions League preliminaries, while FCSB play for Europe Conference League preliminaries.
In a fixture counting towards a second place in Europe Conference League preliminaries
on Thursday, CFR Cluj played Universitatea 1948 Craiova, a team coming from
Group 2. In the first eliminatory match Universitatea 1948 Craiova defeated FC
Voluntari, 4-3.

In Group 2, with 26 points, 13th-placed
was UTA Arad, while 14th-placed FC Argeș, with 24 points. The two
teams will play their playoffs fixtures if they want to maintain their position
in the Superleague. With 23 points, Chindia Targoviste was 15th-placed,
while CS Mioveni came in 16th, with 11 points. Chindia and Mioveni have relegated straight to the second-tier
championship. Politehnica Iași and Oțelul Galați au have been promote straight
to the Superleague.

In the playoff
fixtures counting towards promotion, the two legs have already been played. Gloria
Buzău ended the match against UTA Arad in a blank draw, while Dinamo București defeated
FC Argeș, 6-1. The coming weekend will see matches being played, counting
towards the second leg, in Arad and Pitesti, respectively.

31 May 2023
May 25, 2023

DAY The Ministry of National Defence is
today staging a series of military and religious services devoted to the Heroes
Day celebrated every year on the Ascension Day in Romania. Romanian President
Klaus Iohannis together with the country’s Minister of Defence, Angel Tîvăr are going to attend a series
of ceremonies at the Heroes’ Monument near Sibiu, in central Romania, and the
president of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, is expected to give a
speech during the ceremony at the Heroes Graveyard in Buzau, southern Romania.
The Heroes Day will also be celebrated by Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae
Ciuca at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in the Carol 1st Park
in Bucharest. The Heroes Day was first observed on May 4th 1920 and
was taken over by the Romanian Parliament in 1995. It became a national day of
the Romanian people in 2003.

STRIKE Romanian teachers are carrying
on their all-out strike, after trade unions in education have turned down the
latest government offer, which they deem as insulting. Several thousand
teachers are protesting in front of the government building in Bucharest. Representatives
of the government and trade union leaders last night attended a new round of
talks which ended in a deadlock. The authorities ruled out any pay rises and bonuses
claimed by the trade unions. However, teachers were supposed to get 25 hundred
lei in two installments this year and the non-teaching staffers 1000 lei.
Marian Neacsu, the government’s Secretary General, explained the money would be
given on a special card for professional career and gave assurances that the
field of education would be a top priority in the future process of drafting
the payment law. Disgruntled with the pay and their working conditions, employees
of Romania’s education system kicked off an all-out strike on May 22. Trade
union leaders have announced their intention not to give up the protest unless
their claims are met.

EU The European Commission
Executive Vice-president, Valdis Dombrovskis on Wednesday called on the member
states to apply more effectively their plans of recovery and resilience, to
make investment and cut on spending. The European Commission has again drawn
attention to the economic situation in Romania, the only EU country for which
the procedure for excessive deficit has been activated. According to Brussels,
Romania spends more money than it has and must cut its deficit under 3% by the
next year. According to the government in Bucharest, the budget deficit is
expected to go down under 4.4% of the GDP this year and 2.9% next year. We have
more on the issue after the news.

CUP Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe won
Romania’s football cup after a 5-4 win against Universitatea Cluj in the
shootouts on Wednesday. 120 minutes into the game, the score was nil-all. The
hero of Sepsi was its goalkeeper, Roland Niczuly, a former player of the
Universitatea Cluj’s. Niczuly managed to save three shots, after Universitatea had got
the upper hand but wasted two chances. Sepsi has won the trophy for the second
time in a row. We recall that this ambitious football side from central Romania,
lost the finals of the aforementioned competition in 2020. Universitatea has
lost a Romanian Cup finals for the fifth time.

VISIT ‘A genuine war is going on in Europe at present’ the
president of the Federal Republic of Germany, Franz Walter Steinmeier said on
Thursday during the visit he is paying to Romania. The German official has
reiterated his appeal to unity in this context. During the second day of his
state visit jointly with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis he met
representatives of the German community in Romania. The two officials are going
to visit the National College ‘Samuel von Brukenthal’ in Sibiu with tuition in
German, a school first documented 650 years ago. The two presidents will be
attending a formal lunch offered by the incumbent mayor of Sibiu, Astrid Fodor.
The last stage of the German president’s visit in the region is going to be the
Saxon fortified church in the village of Cristian, a monument dating back to
the 13th century. Steinmeier will next visit the city of Timisoara,
in western Romania to lay a wreath of flowers at the monument dedicated to the
anti-communist revolution of 1989 in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

(bill)

25 May 2023
Sports roundup

At the 2023
ICF Canoe Spring World Cup held in Szeged, Hungary, Romania won 3 medals.
Cătălin Chirilă won the canoe single 500m and 1,000m races, and Ilie Sprincean and
Oleg Nuţă won the canoe double 1,000m race. In the competition in Szeged, Romania
was represented by 9 athletes, 2 women and 7 men, and came out 3rd
in the medal table.

Romania has
left empty-handed from the World Judo Championships in Doha, Qatar. The
Romanian participants performed modestly, with the best result reported for Lucian
Borş – Dumitrescu, who reached the eighth-finals of the 66 kg category. The
last medals for Romania in a world judo championship were won in 2015, in
Astana, Kazakhstan, by Andreea Chiţu, in the 52 kg category, and by Corina
Căprioriu, in the 57 kg.

CSM Lugoj won
their first Romanian cup in women’s volleyball. The team from Lugoj Sunday won
the final against CSM Târgovişte, 3-1, in Piteşti. In Saturday’s semis, CSM
Lugoj beat Volei Alba Blaj, the defending champions and trophy holders, 3-2. The
athletes from Lugoj thus conclude a very good season, in which they won the Cup
Winners Cup, the Romanian Cup and played the Challenge Cup final.

This
weekend saw matches counting towards the play-off / play-out stage of Romania’s
football SuperLeague, round 8. In the play-off, Rapid Bucharest drew at home against
Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, 0-all. Another tie, 1-all, came on Saturday in the match
pitting Universitatea Craiova against Farul Constanţa. On Sunday, in the derby
of this round, played on the National Arena in Bucharest in front of a crowd of
over 40,000, FCSB beat CFR Cluj 1-0. Top of the standings at present are Farul,
with 47 points, followed by FCSB, one point behind.

In the play-out
matches, on Friday FC Botoşani defeated Voluntari on home turf, 2-0. On Saturday,
Hermannstadt beat Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, and Universitatea Cluj outplayed Chindia
Târgovişte, 2-0. On Sunday, UTA Arad won 2-0 against Mioveni, and FC U Craiova defeated
FC Argeş, 2-1. CS Mioveni is certain to be relegated to a lower league, one
round before the end of the play-out stage, while struggling to avoid
relegation are also FC Argeş, with 21 points, and Chindia, with 22. In the last
round, this coming Friday, FC Argeş take on Petrolul Ploiesti, and Chindia face
FC Voluntari. (AMP)

15 May 2023
Sports roundup

At the 2023
ICF Canoe Spring World Cup held in Szeged, Hungary, Romania won 3 medals.
Cătălin Chirilă won the canoe single 500m and 1,000m races, and Ilie Sprincean and
Oleg Nuţă won the canoe double 1,000m race. In the competition in Szeged, Romania
was represented by 9 athletes, 2 women and 7 men, and came out 3rd
in the medal table.

Romania has
left empty-handed from the World Judo Championships in Doha, Qatar. The
Romanian participants performed modestly, with the best result reported for Lucian
Borş – Dumitrescu, who reached the eighth-finals of the 66 kg category. The
last medals for Romania in a world judo championship were won in 2015, in
Astana, Kazakhstan, by Andreea Chiţu, in the 52 kg category, and by Corina
Căprioriu, in the 57 kg.

CSM Lugoj won
their first Romanian cup in women’s volleyball. The team from Lugoj Sunday won
the final against CSM Târgovişte, 3-1, in Piteşti. In Saturday’s semis, CSM
Lugoj beat Volei Alba Blaj, the defending champions and trophy holders, 3-2. The
athletes from Lugoj thus conclude a very good season, in which they won the Cup
Winners Cup, the Romanian Cup and played the Challenge Cup final.

This
weekend saw matches counting towards the play-off / play-out stage of Romania’s
football SuperLeague, round 8. In the play-off, Rapid Bucharest drew at home against
Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, 0-all. Another tie, 1-all, came on Saturday in the match
pitting Universitatea Craiova against Farul Constanţa. On Sunday, in the derby
of this round, played on the National Arena in Bucharest in front of a crowd of
over 40,000, FCSB beat CFR Cluj 1-0. Top of the standings at present are Farul,
with 47 points, followed by FCSB, one point behind.

In the play-out
matches, on Friday FC Botoşani defeated Voluntari on home turf, 2-0. On Saturday,
Hermannstadt beat Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, and Universitatea Cluj outplayed Chindia
Târgovişte, 2-0. On Sunday, UTA Arad won 2-0 against Mioveni, and FC U Craiova defeated
FC Argeş, 2-1. CS Mioveni is certain to be relegated to a lower league, one
round before the end of the play-out stage, while struggling to avoid
relegation are also FC Argeş, with 21 points, and Chindia, with 22. In the last
round, this coming Friday, FC Argeş take on Petrolul Ploiesti, and Chindia face
FC Voluntari. (AMP)

15 May 2023
Sports Flash

Romania’s
men’s handball team was defeated in Bucharest on Wednesday by Austria, 35 – 30.
It was the last but one game for Romania ahead of the 2024 European
Championship qualifiers, Group 4. In its last match, Romania will face Ukraine
in Gummersbach, Germany on Sunday. At the time being, Austria is top of the
group standings with 10 points out of 10, followed by Romania and the Faroe
Islands with 4 points each, and Ukraine with 2 points. The top 2 teams in each
group qualify to the final tournament, alongside the best 4 teams ranking 3rd.
The European Championships will be hosted by Germany between January 10 and 28,
2024. Romania last played in a men’s European Championship in 1996.

The
Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian Wednesday qualified into the second
round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, with EUR 7,700,000 in total prize
money. In the first round she beat Sloane Stephens of the US, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Her
next opponent will be Anastasia Potapova of Russia, seed no 21. Also on
Wednesday, Gabriela Ruse lost to Alizé Cornet (France), 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. Also
playing in the second round of the Madrid competition are Ana Bogdan, Sorana
Cîrstea and Irina Begu.

Sepsi
Sfântu Gheorghe is the first finalist of the Romanian football Cup. On
Wednesday, the team from Covasna defeated CFR Cluj in the semis, 3 – 0. Sepsi, the
current cup holders, scored 10 minutes into the match, thanks to Nicolae Păun, 19
minutes later through Marius Ştefănescu, and on 81 minutes through Venezuelan Mario
Rondon. Defending champions CFR played more than half of the match with only 10
men on the pitch, after defender Andrei Burcă was sent out on 43 minutes over a
foul on Pavol Šafranko. The referee granted a penalty kick, but Cosmin Matei failed
to score. The final is scheduled on May 24 in Sibiu. (AMP)

27 April 2023
Sports Flash

Romania’s
men’s handball team was defeated in Bucharest on Wednesday by Austria, 35 – 30.
It was the last but one game for Romania ahead of the 2024 European
Championship qualifiers, Group 4. In its last match, Romania will face Ukraine
in Gummersbach, Germany on Sunday. At the time being, Austria is top of the
group standings with 10 points out of 10, followed by Romania and the Faroe
Islands with 4 points each, and Ukraine with 2 points. The top 2 teams in each
group qualify to the final tournament, alongside the best 4 teams ranking 3rd.
The European Championships will be hosted by Germany between January 10 and 28,
2024. Romania last played in a men’s European Championship in 1996.

The
Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian Wednesday qualified into the second
round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, with EUR 7,700,000 in total prize
money. In the first round she beat Sloane Stephens of the US, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Her
next opponent will be Anastasia Potapova of Russia, seed no 21. Also on
Wednesday, Gabriela Ruse lost to Alizé Cornet (France), 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. Also
playing in the second round of the Madrid competition are Ana Bogdan, Sorana
Cîrstea and Irina Begu.

Sepsi
Sfântu Gheorghe is the first finalist of the Romanian football Cup. On
Wednesday, the team from Covasna defeated CFR Cluj in the semis, 3 – 0. Sepsi, the
current cup holders, scored 10 minutes into the match, thanks to Nicolae Păun, 19
minutes later through Marius Ştefănescu, and on 81 minutes through Venezuelan Mario
Rondon. Defending champions CFR played more than half of the match with only 10
men on the pitch, after defender Andrei Burcă was sent out on 43 minutes over a
foul on Pavol Šafranko. The referee granted a penalty kick, but Cosmin Matei failed
to score. The final is scheduled on May 24 in Sibiu. (AMP)

27 April 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
RRI Sports Club

Romanias national rugby team concluded its spring season with a victory. In the final for the 3rd place of the continental competition Rugby Europe Championship, Romania beat Spain 31-25. Romania scored 4 tries, thanks to Marius Simionescu, Cristi Chirica, Gabriel Pop and Gabriel Rupanu. Paul Popoaia also scored through a penalty kick and a conversion kick, and Vlăduţ Popa added 2 penalty kicks to Romanias performance.

Gabriel Pop, at his first match for the national team, was designated the best player of the game. The 25-year old athlete is currently playing for Dinamo Bucharest.

The final tournament hosted by the Spanish city of Badajoz ended with the Rugby Europe Championship final, in which Georgia beat Portugal 38-11, to win the competition for the 6th time in a row.

The 2 finalists were in fact the only teams to have defeated Romania, which was hardly a surprise given their better places in the world rankings. At the moment, after the matches in Badajoz, Georgia ranks 11th in the world, Portugal comes 16th, and Romania 19th. Moreover, Romania played against these teams away from home.

The national team had mixed performances this year. There have been good matches, with accurate and even spectacular moments, but also weak periods, with mistakes that enabled their opponents to score tens of points. Major corrections are necessary in this respect, particularly given the fast approaching World Cup, scheduled this autumn in France.

Romania will play their first World Cup match on 9 September, against Ireland, in Bordeaux, followed by a game against defending world champions South Africa, on the 17 September. Next comes the match against Scotland, scheduled to take place on 30 September in Lille, the city which will also host Romanias last game, against Tonga, on 8 October. (AMP)

22 March 2023
RRI Sports Club

Romanias national rugby team concluded its spring season with a victory. In the final for the 3rd place of the continental competition Rugby Europe Championship, Romania beat Spain 31-25. Romania scored 4 tries, thanks to Marius Simionescu, Cristi Chirica, Gabriel Pop and Gabriel Rupanu. Paul Popoaia also scored through a penalty kick and a conversion kick, and Vlăduţ Popa added 2 penalty kicks to Romanias performance.

Gabriel Pop, at his first match for the national team, was designated the best player of the game. The 25-year old athlete is currently playing for Dinamo Bucharest.

The final tournament hosted by the Spanish city of Badajoz ended with the Rugby Europe Championship final, in which Georgia beat Portugal 38-11, to win the competition for the 6th time in a row.

The 2 finalists were in fact the only teams to have defeated Romania, which was hardly a surprise given their better places in the world rankings. At the moment, after the matches in Badajoz, Georgia ranks 11th in the world, Portugal comes 16th, and Romania 19th. Moreover, Romania played against these teams away from home.

The national team had mixed performances this year. There have been good matches, with accurate and even spectacular moments, but also weak periods, with mistakes that enabled their opponents to score tens of points. Major corrections are necessary in this respect, particularly given the fast approaching World Cup, scheduled this autumn in France.

Romania will play their first World Cup match on 9 September, against Ireland, in Bordeaux, followed by a game against defending world champions South Africa, on the 17 September. Next comes the match against Scotland, scheduled to take place on 30 September in Lille, the city which will also host Romanias last game, against Tonga, on 8 October. (AMP)

22 March 2023
Sports flash

We begin with the latest from women’s
volleyball. In the semifinals of the CEV Cup, Europe’s second-tier competition,
Romania’s title holders CSM Volei Alba Blaj grabbed a first-leg 3-nil semifinal
win against vice-champions CSM Târgoviște. It took Volei Alba Blaj one hour and 23 minutes to win
the game, grabbing a 25-15 win in the first set. The second set was a little
bit more balanced, yet Alba Blaj also won the set, 25-18 this time. The third
set was a cliffhanger as Volei Alba Blaj won by the narrowest of margins,
25-23. The return leg is scheduled on March 23rd. In the second semi-final, the Italian team Palazzo Wanny Florence grabbed a 3-nil home win against Turkish opponents THY Istanbul.

21-year-old gymnast Gabriel
Burtănete came in 8th, the last position, in the vault
final as part of the World Cup held in Azeri capital Baku, with 13. 249 points. The gold
medal went to the 2021 world champion, Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, with 14.933
points. Representing Romania at the World Cup in Baku were brothers Gabriel and
Robert Burtănete, and Nicholas Ţarcă.

In the Singapore Smash 2023 table
tennis tournament’s round of 16, Elizabeta Samara sustained a nil-3 defeat by Austrian challenger
Sofia Polcanova. In the previous stage, Samara provided a surprise, defeating Olympic
champion, China’s Meng Chen, 3-2.

Romania’ s women’s rifle team came in 11th
at the European seniors’ and juniors’ Shooting Sports Championships held in Estonia’s
Tallin, in the 10 meter-air rifle event. Romania succeeded 937.7 points all
told in the qualifiers yet failed to earn a position among the competition’s
first 8 teams. The gold medals went to Norway, silver went to Serbia, while Poland
and Germany won the bronze medals. However, Romania won a silver medal, through
junior Luca Joldea, in the pistol event.(EN)

16 March 2023
Sports flash

We begin with the latest from women’s
volleyball. In the semifinals of the CEV Cup, Europe’s second-tier competition,
Romania’s title holders CSM Volei Alba Blaj grabbed a first-leg 3-nil semifinal
win against vice-champions CSM Târgoviște. It took Volei Alba Blaj one hour and 23 minutes to win
the game, grabbing a 25-15 win in the first set. The second set was a little
bit more balanced, yet Alba Blaj also won the set, 25-18 this time. The third
set was a cliffhanger as Volei Alba Blaj won by the narrowest of margins,
25-23. The return leg is scheduled on March 23rd. In the second semi-final, the Italian team Palazzo Wanny Florence grabbed a 3-nil home win against Turkish opponents THY Istanbul.

21-year-old gymnast Gabriel
Burtănete came in 8th, the last position, in the vault
final as part of the World Cup held in Azeri capital Baku, with 13. 249 points. The gold
medal went to the 2021 world champion, Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, with 14.933
points. Representing Romania at the World Cup in Baku were brothers Gabriel and
Robert Burtănete, and Nicholas Ţarcă.

In the Singapore Smash 2023 table
tennis tournament’s round of 16, Elizabeta Samara sustained a nil-3 defeat by Austrian challenger
Sofia Polcanova. In the previous stage, Samara provided a surprise, defeating Olympic
champion, China’s Meng Chen, 3-2.

Romania’ s women’s rifle team came in 11th
at the European seniors’ and juniors’ Shooting Sports Championships held in Estonia’s
Tallin, in the 10 meter-air rifle event. Romania succeeded 937.7 points all
told in the qualifiers yet failed to earn a position among the competition’s
first 8 teams. The gold medals went to Norway, silver went to Serbia, while Poland
and Germany won the bronze medals. However, Romania won a silver medal, through
junior Luca Joldea, in the pistol event.(EN)

16 March 2023