Radio România Internațional

Tag: fencing

3 November 2019, UPDATE

Parliament vote. On Monday, the Romanian Parliament
will hold a vote on the Liberal government proposed by the prime minister
designate Ludovic Orban. 233 yes votes are needed for the new government to
take office. To secure this outcome, Orban has concluded political agreements
and deals with the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania, the People’s Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals
and Democrats and the group of ethnic minorities. The Social Democratic Party
and the Pro Romania party both said their members would be absent from the
vote. Orban’s cabinet would replace Viorica Dancila’s Social Democratic
government which was brought down following a no-confidence vote. Ludovic Orban
has proposed a government with fewer ministries whose priorities include
picking Romania’s candidate for the position of EU commissioner, the final
budget adjustment this year and the budget for next year.

Protest. Miners from two mines in the Jiu Valley, in the
centre-west, have entered their 7th day of protests, while others,
who have barricaded themselves underground, say they will not give in unless
their demands are met. The miners, who are about to lose their jobs at the
beginning of next year when the mine closes, want the same type of social
protection as the miners laid off so far. They demand the passing of an
emergency order by the government to guarantee a monthly income for the next two
years and other rights. Their representatives will have talks on Monday with
the outgoing prime minister Viorica Dancila and the incumbent energy ministrer in an attempt to find a solution. The process to close the two mines began at
the end of 2017.

Tourism. More than 10 million people were registered in tourist facilities in Romania in the first nine months of the year, according to the latest figures published by the National Institute for Statistics. This points to a 4.4% increase compared with the same period last year. 80% of the number of tourists were Romanians. With regard to foreign tourists, most of them came from Germany, Israel, Italy, the US, Hungary, France and Britain. The places attracting the largest number of tourists were Bucharest, the Black Sea port of Constanta, Brasov (in the centre), Cluj (in the north-west), Mures (in the centre) and Prahova (in the south).

Exercise. The Romanian navy’s King
Ferdinand frigate, backed by a Puma Naval helicopter and with a special operations
naval forces unit on board, is taking part in the Sea Guardian NATO exercise
under way in the Mediterranean Sea. The Romanian vessel is carrying out
missions aimed at deterring illegal activities on the NATO and EU southern
flank coordinated by the NATO Allied Maritime Command. It will stop in the
Haifa port in Israel and in Limassol, in Cyprus, for recovery and naval
diplomacy, visits and talks with local civilian and military officials. The
vessel’s first stopover was the Aksaz port in southern Turkey before joining
the frigate Navarinon from Greece and the frigate Verni
from Bulgaria.

Fair. The 24th
edition of the Indagra international fair came to an end on Sunday in Bucharest.
This is the biggest fair for products and equipment related to agriculture,
wine-making and animal breeding in Romania. This year, it has brought together
550 exhibitors from 25 countries. Conference and seminars were held during the
fair on topics such as the innovation-based development of agriculture in
Romania, promoting Romanian products on the domestic and international market
and the access of Romanian producers to European funds. Food and wine tasting
events were also held.

Fencing.
The Romanian fencer Ana-Maria Popescu, an Olympic medalist with her team in
Rio, on Sunday won the Women’s Epee World Cup hosted by the Estonian capital
Tallinn. She defeated Russia’s Violetta Kolobova in the final, 15:13. In her
way to the final, Popescu defeated Estonia’s
Katrina Lehis in the first round, followed by Courtney Hurley of the
US in the next round, Sera Song of South Korea in the last 16, Nicol Foietta of
Italy in the quarterfinals and Yiwen Sun of China in the semifinals. Two
Chinese fencers finished second and third, Yiwen Sun and Mingye Zhu. In the
team event, Romania ranked 11th.

Tennis. The Australian tennis
player Ashleigh Barty, world no. 1, on Sunday won the WTA Finals in Shenzhen,
China. She defeated the trophy holder, world no. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine
in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Before this match, Barty had lost all her five
previous matches against Svitolina. This is her third trophy this year after
Miami and Roland Garros, which takes her to a total of six titles in
professional tennis. Thanks to her results at the WTA Finals, she is sure to
remain world no. at the end of the year. Romania’s Simona Halep, who is world
no. 5, failed to reach the semifinals in Shenzen as she lost to the Czech
player Karolina Pliskova, world no. 2, in three sets, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4.

3 November 2019
RRI Sports Club

The World Fencing Championships are underway in Hungary’s capital
Budapest. The event is crucial as among other things it makes a compulsory
criterion for the qualifiers of next year’s Olympics Games in Japan. So far, saber
fencers have provided the best results for the Romanian delegation, as all four
fencers who took part in the competition qualified for the main draw. Tiberiu
Dolniceanu’s run in the group stage meant six wins in six confrontations, so
Dolniceanu earned his place among the top 64 fencers. Alin Badea, Florin
Zalomir and Iulian Teodosiu have secured their qualification for the main draw
with five wins each. All tree fencers will advance to the competition’s next
stages in the wake of the preliminary rounds. On Thursday in the main draw,
Tiberiu Dolniceanu will face the American Khalil Thompson, while Iulian
Teodosiu will take on British challenger William Deary. Florin Zalomir will
fight China’s Xiaohao Deng and Alin Badea will face Russian opponent Konstantin
Lokhanov.

Also on Thursday, two other Romanians will have their main draw
confrontations. In the women’s epee event, Ana Maria Popescu has qualified
straight into the main draw and will face Lizzie Asis of Venezuela. Amalia
Tataran emerged of the group stage with five wins and will fight last year’s nations’
competition world champion in China’s Wuxi, Katharine Holmes of the USA.

In the men’s epee event, Mario Persu has advanced to the main draw after
six wins in the group stage. On Friday, July 19, Persu will face Czech
challenger Jakub Jurka. All three other Romanian epee fencers went past the
group stage, yet they were eliminated in the preliminary rounds.

In the World Championships foil event, Maria Boldor’s two wins secured
her a place in the main draw, In the first preliminary round, Boldor defeated
Colombia’s Tatiana Prieto, then in the second preliminary round the Romanian
secured a win against Poland’s Martyna Synoradzka. In a main draw confrontation
on Friday, Maria Boldor will face Russia’s Inna Deriglazova.

17 July 2019
RRI Sports Club

The World Fencing Championships are underway in Hungary’s capital
Budapest. The event is crucial as among other things it makes a compulsory
criterion for the qualifiers of next year’s Olympics Games in Japan. So far, saber
fencers have provided the best results for the Romanian delegation, as all four
fencers who took part in the competition qualified for the main draw. Tiberiu
Dolniceanu’s run in the group stage meant six wins in six confrontations, so
Dolniceanu earned his place among the top 64 fencers. Alin Badea, Florin
Zalomir and Iulian Teodosiu have secured their qualification for the main draw
with five wins each. All tree fencers will advance to the competition’s next
stages in the wake of the preliminary rounds. On Thursday in the main draw,
Tiberiu Dolniceanu will face the American Khalil Thompson, while Iulian
Teodosiu will take on British challenger William Deary. Florin Zalomir will
fight China’s Xiaohao Deng and Alin Badea will face Russian opponent Konstantin
Lokhanov.

Also on Thursday, two other Romanians will have their main draw
confrontations. In the women’s epee event, Ana Maria Popescu has qualified
straight into the main draw and will face Lizzie Asis of Venezuela. Amalia
Tataran emerged of the group stage with five wins and will fight last year’s nations’
competition world champion in China’s Wuxi, Katharine Holmes of the USA.

In the men’s epee event, Mario Persu has advanced to the main draw after
six wins in the group stage. On Friday, July 19, Persu will face Czech
challenger Jakub Jurka. All three other Romanian epee fencers went past the
group stage, yet they were eliminated in the preliminary rounds.

In the World Championships foil event, Maria Boldor’s two wins secured
her a place in the main draw, In the first preliminary round, Boldor defeated
Colombia’s Tatiana Prieto, then in the second preliminary round the Romanian
secured a win against Poland’s Martyna Synoradzka. In a main draw confrontation
on Friday, Maria Boldor will face Russia’s Inna Deriglazova.

17 July 2019
Sports Weekend

Romania’s
Simona Halep missed the chance to resume her world no. spot in women’s tennis
as she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the Miami tournament. The
Czech player won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, in 1 hour and 14 minutes. The
match was suspended on several occasions because of rain. Halep was leading 5-3
in the first set, but then she lost 9 consecutive games, until she was 5
matches behind in the second set. Halep won 354,000 dollars and 390 WTA points
in Miami. Karolina Pliskova will next play Australia’s Ashleigh Barty for the
title. Barty, who is seeded 12th, defeated Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit
in the other semifinal, 6-3, 6-3.

It’s
news from fencing next. Dinamo’s Tiberiu Dolniceanu won the National
Championship title in men’s individual sabre. He defeated another Dinamo
fencer, Iulian Teodosiu, 15-13, in the final. Dolniceanu thus won his second
consecutive national title. Teodosiu had won in 2016 and 2017. Aged 31, Tiberiu
Dolniceanu has won many medals at world and European championships, both in
individual events and with his team. He won the silver medal with the Romanian
sabre team at the 2012 Olympic Games hosted by London.

We
end with football. A new leg of the Romanian football League One takes place
this weekend. In Group 2, Dinamo Bucharest face FC Hermannstadt on Friday. On
Sunday, Concordia Chiajna face FC Voluntari at home, and Poli Iasi play Gaz
Metan Medias, also at home. On Monday, FC Botosani face Dunarea Calarasi. In
Group 1, CFR Cluj receive Astra Giurgiu on Saturday; FCSB play against
Universitatea Craiova on the National Arena in Bucharest on Sunday; and Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe take on Viitorul Constanta on Monday, in the last match of the
leg. CFR Cluj lead in the ranking with 33 points followed by Craiova with 29
points and FCSB with 28 points.

29 March 2019
Sports Weekend

Romania’s
Simona Halep missed the chance to resume her world no. spot in women’s tennis
as she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the Miami tournament. The
Czech player won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, in 1 hour and 14 minutes. The
match was suspended on several occasions because of rain. Halep was leading 5-3
in the first set, but then she lost 9 consecutive games, until she was 5
matches behind in the second set. Halep won 354,000 dollars and 390 WTA points
in Miami. Karolina Pliskova will next play Australia’s Ashleigh Barty for the
title. Barty, who is seeded 12th, defeated Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit
in the other semifinal, 6-3, 6-3.

It’s
news from fencing next. Dinamo’s Tiberiu Dolniceanu won the National
Championship title in men’s individual sabre. He defeated another Dinamo
fencer, Iulian Teodosiu, 15-13, in the final. Dolniceanu thus won his second
consecutive national title. Teodosiu had won in 2016 and 2017. Aged 31, Tiberiu
Dolniceanu has won many medals at world and European championships, both in
individual events and with his team. He won the silver medal with the Romanian
sabre team at the 2012 Olympic Games hosted by London.

We
end with football. A new leg of the Romanian football League One takes place
this weekend. In Group 2, Dinamo Bucharest face FC Hermannstadt on Friday. On
Sunday, Concordia Chiajna face FC Voluntari at home, and Poli Iasi play Gaz
Metan Medias, also at home. On Monday, FC Botosani face Dunarea Calarasi. In
Group 1, CFR Cluj receive Astra Giurgiu on Saturday; FCSB play against
Universitatea Craiova on the National Arena in Bucharest on Sunday; and Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe take on Viitorul Constanta on Monday, in the last match of the
leg. CFR Cluj lead in the ranking with 33 points followed by Craiova with 29
points and FCSB with 28 points.

29 March 2019
The Athlete of the Week

The Italian town of Marcianese last week was the capital of European fencing. Located in the province of Caserta, close to Napoli, the little town played host to the European Epee Cup. The competition brought together Europes top fencing teams. Representing Romania was the fencing team of Steaua Army Club in Bucharest, made of Ana-Maria Popescu, Alexandra Predescu, Greta Vereş and Raluca Sbârcia.

The Romanians had an auspicious start in the competition, winning two group matches, the one against the English team Plymouth and the second against the Italian team Caserta. Then in the quarterfinals the Romanians outclassed Spains Club Esgrima Lazaro Cardenas. However, Steaua were defeated by Fiamme Oro, the team of the Italian Police. In the fight for the bronze medal, Steaua outperformed Aeronautica Militare, the team of the Italian air forces.

This week, Radio Romania International has designated Ana-Maria Popescu the Athlete of the Week.

Better known as Ana-Maria Branza to fencing lovers, our top epee fencer was born on November 26, 1984. She first compelled recognition in international competitions in 2001 when she emerged as world champion at the World Cadet Championships in Poland. In 2002, Ana-Maria Branza became a juniors world champion in Turkey. 2002 was an auspicious year for Ana-Maria, who amazed everybody coming in 3rd at the World Championships in Lisbon.

At the Athens Olympics in 2004, when all hopes were pinned on Ana-Maria Branza, the Romanian fencer only came in 16th. Ana Maria then took her revenge in Beijing in 2008, where she walked away with silver, which was Romanian fencings best result at the Beijing Olympics. In 2010 and 2011, Ana-Maria Popescu was a member of the Romanian team that won the world epee title. In 2013, at the European Championships in Poland, Ana-Maria won the gold medal in the individual event and silver in the nations competition. At the European championship held in Strasbourg in 2014, and in Montreux, in 2015, Ana-Maria once again stepped onto the first step of the podium, with the Romanian team.

However, Ana-Maria Popescus career best occurred in 2016. In the Rio Olympics, Ana-Maria was a member of the epee team that won the Olympic gold.

(translated by: Eugen Nasta)

22 January 2019
The Athlete of the Week

The Italian town of Marcianese last week was the capital of European fencing. Located in the province of Caserta, close to Napoli, the little town played host to the European Epee Cup. The competition brought together Europes top fencing teams. Representing Romania was the fencing team of Steaua Army Club in Bucharest, made of Ana-Maria Popescu, Alexandra Predescu, Greta Vereş and Raluca Sbârcia.

The Romanians had an auspicious start in the competition, winning two group matches, the one against the English team Plymouth and the second against the Italian team Caserta. Then in the quarterfinals the Romanians outclassed Spains Club Esgrima Lazaro Cardenas. However, Steaua were defeated by Fiamme Oro, the team of the Italian Police. In the fight for the bronze medal, Steaua outperformed Aeronautica Militare, the team of the Italian air forces.

This week, Radio Romania International has designated Ana-Maria Popescu the Athlete of the Week.

Better known as Ana-Maria Branza to fencing lovers, our top epee fencer was born on November 26, 1984. She first compelled recognition in international competitions in 2001 when she emerged as world champion at the World Cadet Championships in Poland. In 2002, Ana-Maria Branza became a juniors world champion in Turkey. 2002 was an auspicious year for Ana-Maria, who amazed everybody coming in 3rd at the World Championships in Lisbon.

At the Athens Olympics in 2004, when all hopes were pinned on Ana-Maria Branza, the Romanian fencer only came in 16th. Ana Maria then took her revenge in Beijing in 2008, where she walked away with silver, which was Romanian fencings best result at the Beijing Olympics. In 2010 and 2011, Ana-Maria Popescu was a member of the Romanian team that won the world epee title. In 2013, at the European Championships in Poland, Ana-Maria won the gold medal in the individual event and silver in the nations competition. At the European championship held in Strasbourg in 2014, and in Montreux, in 2015, Ana-Maria once again stepped onto the first step of the podium, with the Romanian team.

However, Ana-Maria Popescus career best occurred in 2016. In the Rio Olympics, Ana-Maria was a member of the epee team that won the Olympic gold.

(translated by: Eugen Nasta)

22 January 2019
Fencing

The European Fencing Championships are underway in Novi Sad, Serbia. Romanian sabre fencer Bianca Pascu was outclassed by Russias Svetlana Seveleva in the quarterfinals, 15-12. We recall that in the qualifiers, Pascu had outperformed Spains Lucia Martin-Portugues and Olga Kharlan of Ukraine. Pascu walked away with bronze at the 2017 edition of the European Championships held in Tbilisi.

In the mens version of the sabre event, the Romanian Andrei Timoce was unable to move past the second round, having sustained a 15-11 defeat by Great Britains Harisson Nichols.

In the individual womens epee event, the Romanian Ana-Maria Popescu came in 6th. In the first round, Popescu defeated Alejandra Cisneros of Spain, 15-7. In the second round, Popescu outperformed Ksenia Panteleeva of Ukraine, 15-8. In the round of 16, Ana-Maria Popescu secured a 15-12 win against Italys Rossella Fiamingo. However, in the quarterfinals Popescu lost to Estonias Julia Beljajeva 9-15. We recall that in 2016 Popescu was an Olympic champion, as part of the Romanian team, in the nations competition.

Also in the individual womens epee event, Amalia Tătăran was 9th-placed, after being defeated in the round of 16 by Beljajeva, 10-15. Maria Udrea came in 10th, having lost the the round of 16 match to another Estonian fencer, Katrina Lehis, 6-15. Raluca Sbîrcia came in 35th.

In the individual womens foil event, representing Romania were four fencers: Mălina Călugăreanu, Maria Boldor, Anca Săveanu and Teodora Sîrbu. Romanias best result was provided by Anca Saveanu, who was 39th-placed in the final rankings. The other three fencers coached by Florin Gheorghe, Teodora Sirbu, Malina Calugareanu and Maria Boldor, were ranked 42nd, 44th and 47th, respectively.

In the individual mens sabre event, Tiberiu Dolniceanu came in 11th in the final rankings. The other three Romanian sabre fencers taking part in the event, Iulian Teodosiu, Alin Badea and George Dragomir, were 27th, 36th and 45th-placed, respectively.

(translated by: Eugen Nasta)

20 June 2018
June 17, 2017 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT – The Social Democratic Party, the main member of the ruling coalition in Romania, stepped up the process of dismissing its own Cabinet headed by Sorin Grindeanu. Parliament will convene on Sunday to present a motion to censure, and the document will be discussed and voted on three days later, on Wednesday. The Social Democrats need 233 votes to have the motion passed, and together with their allies, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, they have 247 seats in Parliament. On Friday, ex-PM Victor Ponta was appointed secretary general of the Grindeanu Cabinet, in what analysts see as Grindeanus attempt to secure allies among the influential members of the Social Democratic Party, from which he has been recently expelled. In turn, the Social Democrats claim Sorin Grindeanu and Victor Ponta are trying to highjack the executive power. We remind you that PM Grindeanu will not step down, although the ruling coalition withdrew its political support for the Government and most ministers have resigned. Sorin Grindeanu is criticised for lack of efficiency in implementing the governing programme. In turn, he says the situation will be settled in compliance with the Constitution and the applicable legislation. The head of state, Klaus Iohannis, has called on the coalition to solve its internal crisis.

POLITICS – Ludovic Orban, a minister of transport in 2007-2008, was elected on Saturday the new president of the National Liberal Party, the largest right-wing party in the Romanian parliamentary opposition. MEP Cristian Buşoi was his challenger in the election. Both candidates promised a revival of the party, after the deafeat in the 2016 general election, when they only got 20% of the votes, as compared to 45% for the Social Democrats. Comentators believe that, against the background of the current acute divergencies among the Social democrats, the Liberals stand good chances to return to the forefront of the domestic political arena. Attending the Liberal Congress was also the secretary general of the European Peoples Party, Antonio Lopez Isturiz White. For a long time affiliated to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, the National Liberal Party switched to the EPP in 2014. On Sunday, the Liberal Partys National coordination Council convenes to hold elections for 36 leading positions, for which over 100 party members are competing.

HELMUT KOHL – President Klaus Iohannis sent condolences to his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The head of the Romanian state paid tribute to “a great statesman and European leader and a source of inspiration for his handling of the challenges posed by the Cold War and the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Iohannis added that Kohl was a close friend of Romania, having contributed to the success of the current Romanian-German relations. In turn, Emil Constantinescu, president of Romania in 1996 to 2000, said Helmut Kohl would be remembered in the history of Europe for his contribution to the remodelling of NATO and the EU in keeping with the great challenge represented by the end of the Cold War and its ultimate symbol, the fall of the Berlin Wall. Helmut Kohl died on Friday at the age of 87. Politicians from around the world have praised the outstanding European leader.

CELEBRATION – The PM of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, accompanied by the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, took part in Sibiu on Saturday in the celebration of 10 years since this Romanian city and Luxembourg were together European Capitals of Culture. A member of the German community in Romania, the descendants of the Saxon colonists coming to Transylvania in the Middle Ages, President Iohannis was the Mayor of Sibiu in 2007, when Romania joined the EU, and his city was a European capital of Culture together with Luxembourg. The partnership between Sibiu and Luxembourg remains an example of what the European spirit is all about, Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday, and voiced hope that the borders that may build walls between Europeans would be replaced by bridges of culture, freedom and tolerance. Also on Saturday, the two officials attended the opening of an honorary consular office of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Sibiu.

FRENCH ELECTION – France is holding the second round of legislative elections on Sunday, under the restrictions of the state of emergency following the terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015. The newly elected president Emmanuel Macron is seeking to secure a parliamentary majority to support the programme on which he won the presidential ballot last month. With over 32% of the votes in the first round, held last Sunday, Macrons Republique en Marche movement is expected to win between 400 and 445 seats out of the total 577 in the French Parliament.

FENCING – Romanias womens epee team won the bronze on Saturday in the European Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, after beating Estonia 45-38. Romania also won the bronze in last years edition of the competition, held in Torun, Poland. Romanias participation in the Tbilisi championships thus ends with 2 bronze medals, the first of them won on Monday by Bianca Pascu, in the individual sabre event.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

17 June 2017
Saber Fencer Iulian Teodosiu

Made up of Tiberiu Dolniceanu
from Dinamo Bucharest, Iulian Teodosiu also from Dinamo Bucharest, Alin Badea
of Steaua Bucharest and Mădălin Bucur from the same side, Romania’s lineup for
the aforementioned competition defeated Italy in the finals by the narrowest of
margins, 45-44.

In the round of 16 and with
Florin Zalomir at the helm, Romania obtained a 45-40 win over France, then
Romania secured yet another win in the quarterfinals fixture against Russia,
also 45-40, while in the semifinals, Romania defeated Hungary, 45-44. In the
contest for the 3rd place, South Korea defeated Hungary, 45-43.

In the individual contest held on
Friday and Saturday, Romanian saber fencers ranked as follows: Iulian Teodosiu
was 20th placed, Tiberiu Dolniceanu ranked 34th, Madalin
Bucur came on the 53rd position, Alin Badea on the 55th,
Dragos Sarbu ranked 94th, Sorin Eftimie was placed 137th,
while George Iancu ranked 143rd. The next World Cup stage in the
men’s senior saber event is the Grand Prix in Seoul, Korea, to be held over
March 31st and April 1st 2017.

Iulian Teodosiu was the
best-placed Romanian saber fencer in the individual contest. Also, he had a big hand in Romania’s winning
the Word Cup contest in Poland, reason enough for our radio station to designate
Iulian Teodosiu the Athlete of the Week.

Right-handed saber fencer Iulian
Robert Teodosiu was born in 1994 in Slobozia, a town located 130 kilometers
from Bucharest. He is 1.88 meters tall and took up fencing at the age of 9,
specializing in saber. In 2013 Iulian got transferred to Dinamo sports club.

In 2013, when he was 19, Iulian
Teodosiu became world vice-champion with Romania’s national team in Budapest.
Also with the national side, he walked away with bronze from the world Cup
contest in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

At the European Games held in
Baku in 2015, Iulian Teodosiu won silver with the national team, while at the
2016 edition of the European Championship held in the Polish city of Torun he
walked away with bronze in the nations’ competition. At the 2015 edition of the
World Cup, Iuilan Teodosiu ranked 47th.

28 February 2017
Team of the Year 2016

2016 was a special year for Romanian fencing, with noteworthy results beginning to add to Romanian fencers’ record sheet as early as in March, when Steaua Bucharest’s women’s epee team, made up of Ana Maria Popescu-Brânză, Simona Gherman, Simona Pop and Greta Veres won the European Cup. In the final, Steaua outperformed Moscow Fencing Club, 45-38.

In June, Romania walked away with 4 medals at the European Fencing Championships in Torun, Poland. In the individual epee event, the gold went to Simona Gherman, while the silver medal went to Ana-Maria Popescu, whom Gherman defeated in the final. The other two medals were bronze, and were won by Romania’s women’s epee team, made of Ana-Maria Popescu, Simona Pop, Simona Gherman and Loredana Dinu, and by the men’s saber team, made of Alin Badea, Tiberiu Dolniceanu, Ciprian Gălăţanu and Iulian Teodosiu.

Taking that into account, expectations were high ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio, and it was again the women’s epee team that met these expectations. The team members, Ana-Maria Popescu, Simona Pop, Simona Gherman and Loredana Dinu, won the first Olympic title for Romanian fencing in the nations’ competition. Also, it was the only gold medal the Romanian delegation won at the Olympic Games in Rio.

In Rio, Romania’s hardest match was the one against the United States in the quarterfinals, when Romania won, 24-23, thanks to Ana-Maria Popescu’s golden touch. Then in the semifinals, Romania had no problem defeating Russia, 45-31, while in the finals, Romania outclassed the defending Olympic champions China, 44-38.

The gold medal in Rio turned Romania’s epee lineup into an unrivaled team in the race for the Team of the year 2016 title. The performance of Romanian women fencers is all the more impressive, as most of the team members were at the end of their career. Save for Simona Pop, who was born in 1988, the other girls are over 30 and their record includes a great number of medals won in top-class competitions.

6 January 2017
Athlete of the Week on RRI – Fencer Simona Pop

Romanian fencer Simona Pop won the bronze medal in the women’s epee event at the European Fencing Championships in Montreux, Switzerland. Simona Pop didn’t play in the first round, while in the second round she eased past Dorina Budai of Hungary, 15-3. In the eighth finals Simona edged out Emma Samuelsson of Sweden 15-14, while in the quarterfinals she defeated Tatiana Logunova of Russia 15-11. In the semi-finals, Simona Pop lost 15-9 to Rossella Fiamingo of Italy, the defending world champion. The gold went to Violetta Kolobova of Russia, who defeated Fiamingo 15-12 in the final. Emese Szasz of Hungary also scooped bronze after losing to Kolobova 15-10 in the semi-finals.

For her remarkable achievement, we have designated Simona Pop Athlete of the Week on RRI.

Simona Pop was born in Satu Mare, northwestern Romania on December 25, 1988. She took up fencing in her hometown and managed her first notable performance in 2008, when she won silver at the World Junior Fencing Championship in Acireale, Italy. In 2013 she was silver-medallist at the Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia.

In the 2012-2013 season Simona Pop won bronze at the World Championships in Saint-Maur, France and silver at the European Champions’ Cup with Romania’s team. In the 2013-2014 season, Pop won gold with Romania’s team at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Simona Pop was then drafted into Romania’s senior team, and became the team’s number two player after captain Ana-Maria Branza. Shortly afterwards she was signed by CSA Steaua Bucharest.

With Romania’s team she won the bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and gold at the 2014 European Championships, where Romania defeated Russia in the final match 38-34.

Simona Pop has been married to fencer Adrian Pop since 2012.

9 June 2015
Radio Romania International Sports Club – Fencing

2015 started in fencing with several top-level competitions. For Romanian fencers, the most important were the World Cup stages in the men’s saber and women’s epee events.

In late January, the Romanian athletes participated in the saber events hosted by the Italian city of Padova. Romania was ranked on the 8th position in the nations’ competition, and is currently 6th placed according to World Cup rankings.

In the men’s individual event, Tiberiu Dolniceanu ranked 12th in Padova. Dolniceanu is also the best-placed Romanian fencer according to world rankings, occupying the 7th position at the moment. We recall that in 2014, at the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Dolniceanu walked away with bronze. We should also note that later this week, Romanian saber fencers will take part in the World Cup stage to be held in Warsaw, Poland.

In the women’s epee event, Romania is 3rd placed at the moment according to World Cup rankings. Less than a month ago, in the World Cup stage held in Barcelona, Ana-Maria Branza and her team mates won the bronze medal, clinching a win in the game against Russia.

In Buenos Airs last week, Romania won the silver medals. In the final, the Romanian fencers conceded victory to Italy, after having secured yet another win over Russia in the semifinals. In the women’s individual event in Buenos Aires, Ana-Maria Branza was 5th placed. According to the season’s rankings, best placed is Simona Gherman, currently ranking 6th in the standings, while Ana-Maria Branza is 8th placed.

This year, the European Fencing Championships will be hosted by the Swiss city of Montreux in June, while the World Championships are scheduled in Moscow, in July.

18 February 2015
Fencers Bianca Pascu and Radu Daraban

Last weekend saw the close of the last fencing tournament in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics. The tournament was held in Bratislava, the capital-city of Slovakia, and brought together some of the leading figures in European fencing. The fencers that jumped at the opportunity to secure their presence at the London Olympics included twice Olympic champion Laura Flessel-Colovic, aged 40. She will be the only fencer to represent France at this year’s Olympic Games, given that the French team have failed to qualify.

The Bratislava competition also spelled qualification for two Romanian fencers: Radu Daraban in the men’s foil event and Bianca Pascu in the women’s sabre event. In the knock-out phase Daraban eased past Alexander Choupenitch of the Czech Republic, 15-14 before brushing aside Gael Santos of Portugal in the semifinals, final score 15-8.

On the other hand, Bianca Pascu defeated Araceli Navarro of Spain in the final event by 15 to 11. Another two Romanian fencers failed to qualify. In the women’s foil competition, Cristina Ghita lost 10-6 to Natalia Sheppard of the UK. Ghita had previously outplayed Debora Nogueria of Portugal, 15-12 and Maria Marino of Spain, 15-6. In the men’s epee event, Adrian Pop was knocked out in the first round by Artiom Ceartovici of Belarus, 15-12.

For their performances, we have designated Radu Daraban and Bianca Pascu athletes of the week on RRI.

It is also worth noting that Romania has already secured its presence at the London Olympics in the men’s sabre team and women’s epee team events. All fencers part of national teams are allowed to enter individual competitions as well.

26 April 2012