Radio România Internațional

Tag: indoor

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    Romania’s women’s handball team has qualified for the 2024 European Championships hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. On Sunday night, in Group 1, Romania, missing its star players Cristina Neagu and Crina Pintea, defeated Croatia away from home 25-23. Romania, which tops the group standings with 8 points, is yet to play against Bosnia-Hertegovina away from home and against Greece at home. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament, along with the best 4 teams having ranked 3rd in each group.

     

    The Kenyan-born Romanian athlete Joan Chelimo Melly won Sunday’s semi-marathon race in Paris, and set a new national record on this occasion. Coached by Carol Şanta at the Dinamo Bucharest club, Joan Chelimo Melly has qualified to the Paris Olympics marathon event this summer. She finished the race in one hour, 6 minutes and 57 seconds, followed by the Kenyan athletes Veronica Loleo and Jesphine Jepleting, respectively. Romania’s previous semi-marathon record, 1 hour 7 minutes and 45 seconds, had been set by another Kenyan-born athlete, Stella Rutto, on 21 February 2021.

     

    At the Glasgow World Athletics Indoor Championships, the Romanian athlete Alina Rotaru-Kottmann finished 8th in the long jump finals. Two other Romanians, Diana Ion and Andreea Taloş, came out 9th and 10th in the triple jump final.

     

    Romania’s rugby team played on Saturday against Georgia, away from home, in the semi-finals of the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship. Georgia won the match, 43-5. In the other semi-final, on Sunday, Portugal defeated Spain, 33-30. The finals are scheduled on the 17 March in Paris, with Romania and Spain playing for the 3rd place, and Georgia and Portugal competing for the trophy.

     

    This past weekend also saw matches counting towards the 29th round of the Romanian football SuperLeague. On Friday, Poli Iaşi drew against Dinamo Bucharest, 0-0. On Saturday, UTA Arad beat FCU Craiova 3-2, FC Hermannstadt defeated Oţelul Galaţi 4-1, and Farul Constanţa drew against CFR Cluj, 1-1. On Sunday, Universitatea Cluj defeated FC Botoşani 1-0 while FCSB outplayed Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, with two other matches, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe vs FC Voluntari and Universitatea Craiova vs Rapid Bucharest scheduled for Monday. FCSB rank first in the current standings, with 64 points, followed by Rapid (51) and CFR Cluj (50). (AMP)

  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    Romania will be represented by 7 female athletes at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Glasgow, Scotland. Alina Rotaru-Kottmann will be competing in the long-jump event, Andreea Taloş and Diana Ion in the triple jump and Daniela Stanciu, in the high jump contest. Andreea Miklos will represent Romania in the 400 meter dash while Claudia Bobocea and Petronela Simiuc in the 800 and 1500 meter races.

    Romania had 11 athletes in the past edition of the aforementioned indoor competition in Belgrade in 2022, and the best Romanian performance was obtained by Claudia Bobocea – the 9th place in the 1.500 meter race. The latest medals obtained by athletes from Romania in a suchlike indoor contest were at the 2016 edition in Portland, where Andrei Gag reaped silver in the shot put event and the women’s 4×400 meter relay team, which included Andreea Miklos, came third in the race.

    Romania’s rugby side will be playing Georgia on Saturday in an away game of the 2024 edition of Rugby Europe Championship, the second big European contest after Six Nations.  In the other semifinals game on Sunday, Portugal will be up, on their own ground, against Spain. The winners will be playing in the finals due on the Jean Bouin stadium, in Paris on March 17th.

    Romania’s women handball side will be playing Croatia, in Koprivnica on Sunday in a match counting towards the first group of the European Championship qualifiers. The two sides also met on Wednesday in Bistrita, central Romania, where our athletes secured a 26-24 win. In the group’s ranking Romania comes first with 6 points followed by Croatia with 4, Greece with 2 and Bosnia-Herzegovina with no point. The first two sides of each group will qualify as well as the best four sides on the third position.

    This weekend will be seeing a series of matches counting towards the 29th leg of the Romanian Football Superleague. Only one game on Friday when Poli Iasi takes on Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday, UTA plays FCU Craiova in a home game, then Hermannstadt also at home will be up against Otelul Galati. In Constanta, local side Farul will be playing CFR Cluj. On Sunday, Universitatea Cluj will be playing FC Botosani, while FCSB plays in Bucharest Petrolul Ploiesti. On Monday, Sepsi, on their own turf, will be playing FC Voluntari and Universitatea Craiova, at home, will receive Rapid Bucharest. FCSB ranks first in the standings with 61 points, followed by Rapid, ten points less.

    (bill)

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    Attention-grabbing in International women’s tennis last week was the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun. Because of the bad weather conditions, the competition
    came to a close as late as Monday, with Polish Iga Swiantek emerging as winner.
    However, the international calendar has other tournaments on schedule, not so important
    events, such as the ITF tournament hosted by the Greek city of Heraklion on the Island of Crete, an event with 40,000 USD in prize money. Of the Romanian women
    tennis players taking part in the competition, the best was WTA 307th-placed,
    37-year-old Cristina Dinu, who reached as far as the semi-finals. However, Dinu
    was defeated by WTA 109th-palced tennis player and top-seeded in Heraklion,
    Dianne Parry of France, 6-3,
    7-6. Irina Bara’s performance in
    the women’s doubles event was above par since in the final, Irina and Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic outclassed the Romanian-Greek
    pair made of Oana Gavrilă and Sapfo Sakellaridi, 3-6, 7-6, 10-8.

    Reason enough
    for Radio Romania International to designate Irina Bara the Athlete of the
    Week.


    Irina Bara was born on March 18, 1995,
    in the town of Ştei, in western Romania. It was not until 2015 that she made
    her debut on the main draw of a WTA tournament when she paired up with Mihaela
    Buzarnescu in the women’s doubles event as part of the tournament hosted by Romania’s capital city, Bucharest. Irina’s progress has been a constant one ever since, as in May, 2019 she saw a
    record-high in terms of WTA rankings, being 56th-placed. According
    to the as-it-stands WTA women’s doubles table, Irina Bara is 120th-placed. In
    2021, Irina won the women’s doubles final as part of the WTA tournament in Cluj-Napoca,
    jointly with Georgian tennis player Ekaterine Gorgodze. Irina Bara’s career-best
    in women’s singles occurred in 2020 when she reached as far as the third round, in the Australian Open and Roland Garros. At present, Irina Bara is 173rd-placed, according to the WTA rankings.


    This week, Irina Bara is among the
    tennis players summoned by Romanian team’s non-playing captain Horia Tecău, for
    the match against Serbia. The Billie
    Jean King Cup confrontation will be hosted by an indoor clay court in Kraljevo.
    Also part of the team are Jaqueline Cristian, Gabriela Ruse, Anca Todoni and Monica Niculescu. The
    winning side will prove its mettle in the qualifiers for the Billie Jean King
    Cup’s final tournament.

  • November 19, 2019

    November 19, 2019

    ELECTION In Romania, the campaign for the second round of the presidential election continues. The vote is scheduled for Sunday, November 24th. Competing are the incumbent president, Klaus Iohannis, backed by the National Liberal Party in power, and the former Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancila. According to data made public by the Central Electoral Bureau and validated on Friday by the Constitutional Court, in the first round Klaus Iohanis got 37.82% of the votes and Viorica Dăncilă 22.26%. The turnout was 51.19%. Abroad, where Romanian citizens were able to vote Friday through Sunday, record-large numbers of voters showed up in polls (over 675,000). In the runoff as well, the Romanians living abroad will have 3 days to cast their ballots, between noon on Friday and Sunday at 9 PM, with a possible extension to midnight.




    AUTOMOTIVE In October Romania was the most dynamic automobile market in Europe, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association announced. Last month, around 11,000 vehicles were registered in Romania, up 58.1% since the same month last year. In the first 10 months of 2019, around 135,000 automobiles were registered in Romania, accounting for an annual growth rate of 18.9%, whereas the European automobile market saw a 0.7% decline. Dacia reported a 7.8% rise in sales in Europe in October, to 40,687 units. The Romanian carmaker Dacia was taken over by Renault in 1999. Relaunched in 2004 with the new Logan model, Dacia turned into a major player in the European automobile market.




    TRAGEDY The owner of the Romanian company that provided pest extermination services for 2 apartment buildings in Timişoara, western Romania, was arrested for 24 hours this morning, under charges of manslaughter, bodily harm and trafficking in controlled substances. The court will decide whether he will be kept in pre-trial arrest. Recently, 3 people died following a pest and rodent extermination operation—a 9-day baby, a 3-year old and his mother, while 20 other people, adults and children, are hospitalised. The 2 buildings have been evacuated. Preliminary investigations reveal that the intoxication was caused by neurotoxins. The tragedy caused panic among the locals, with scores of people requesting medical check-ups.




    STATISTICS Over one-quarter (27.7%) of the population of Romania were living in 2018 in households without indoor toilets. The figure is down from the 29.7% reported in 2017, but still more than 10 times above the EU average of 2.1%, according to data made public today by Eurostat, on World Toilet Day. In as many as 19 member states, the percentage of people living in housing without indoor toilets in 2018 was below 1%, including Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden where the figure is very close to zero. At the opposite pole, Romania is preceded by Bulgaria with 15.3%, Lithuania (10.6%), Latvia (9.9%) and Estonia (5.3%). Still, the number of people living without proper sanitation services in the EU dropped from 3.3% in 2010 to 2.1% last year, and in Romania it fell from 40.9% to 27.7%.




    THEATRE The Government of Japan awarded the Order of the Rising Sun to the actor Constantin Chiriac, director of the Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu and president of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, in recognition of his contribution to promoting the Japanese culture in Romania and the cultural exchanges between the 2 countries. The Order of the Rising Sun was established in 1875, and is one of the most important decorations bestowed by the Japanese government, second to the Order of the Chrysanthemum, and is the highest awarded to foreign citizens, for distinguished achievements in international relations, for the promotion of the Japanese culture and of projects aimed at preserving the environment.




    FOOTBALL Romanias Under-21 football team are playing tonight away from home against Northern Ireland in the 2021 European Championship qualifying Group 8. With 3 wins and a loss in previous matches, the Romanians rank second in the group, after Denmark. The senior team Monday lost to Spain, 0-5 away from home, in Group F of next years European Championship qualifiers, and finished 4th in the group. After the defeat, manager Cosmin Contra announced his resignation. The only chance left for Romania to qualify into the final tournament is the Nations League playoff due in March. The draw for Euro 2020 will take place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 3 group matches and an eighth-final.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The situation of Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest in the Champions League main Group 2 is getting complicated. CSM sustained 23-22 away defeat by Slovenian opponents Krim Ljubljana. Ahead of the last round in the main group stage, CSM are 3rd-placed in the group, on a par with the 4th-placed team, Hungarys Ferencváros.



    CSM has already booked its ticket in the quarterfinals, but is to find out its opponent according to its place in the final rankings. If they eventually come 3rd in the group, CSM will be pitched against the 2nd-placed team in the other group, most likely Russian team Rostov Don. In the last round this coming Friday, CSM Bucharest faces German squad Thüringer.



    News from indoor athletics, now. The European Athletics Indoor Championships have recently drawn to a close in Glasgow. The Romanian delegation, made up of 12 athletes, walked home with no medal. This past Sunday, Alina Rotaru provided the best result for the Romanian delegation, coming in 5th, with a 6.64-meter jump in the final of the long jump event. The other Romanian athlete who got through to the final, Florentina Marincu-Iuşco, came in 8th with a jump of 6.49 m. The gold medal went to Serbias Ivana Spanovic, who succeeded a jump of 6.99 meters.



    In Madrid this past Sunday, Romanias national rugby squad sustained an 18-21 defeat by Spain, in a fixture counting towards Rugby Europe Championship. It is the second defeat for the Romanian rugby team in this competition. Interesting to mention, though, is that the Romanians had a 13-nil lead during the game. For the Romanian lineup, Ionut Dumitru and Vladut Zaharia succeeded tries on 7 and 68 minutes, respectively. Then Florin Vlaicu converted two penalty kicks and managed a successful conversion. Spain managed three tries, all of them successfully converted.



    We go out with news from football, as this past weekend saw matches counting towards the 26th-round of League One, the last round of the regular season. Qualifying for the play-offs were CFR Cluj, FCSB, Universitatea Craiova, Astra Giurgiu, Viitorul Constanţa and Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. The teams that have got through to the play-out were FC Botoşani, Poli Iaşi, Dinamo, Hermannstadt, Gaz Metan, Dunărea, FC Voluntari and Concordia Chiajna.




    (translated by: Eugen Nasta)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The situation of Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest in the Champions League main Group 2 is getting complicated. CSM sustained 23-22 away defeat by Slovenian opponents Krim Ljubljana. Ahead of the last round in the main group stage, CSM are 3rd-placed in the group, on a par with the 4th-placed team, Hungarys Ferencváros.



    CSM has already booked its ticket in the quarterfinals, but is to find out its opponent according to its place in the final rankings. If they eventually come 3rd in the group, CSM will be pitched against the 2nd-placed team in the other group, most likely Russian team Rostov Don. In the last round this coming Friday, CSM Bucharest faces German squad Thüringer.



    News from indoor athletics, now. The European Athletics Indoor Championships have recently drawn to a close in Glasgow. The Romanian delegation, made up of 12 athletes, walked home with no medal. This past Sunday, Alina Rotaru provided the best result for the Romanian delegation, coming in 5th, with a 6.64-meter jump in the final of the long jump event. The other Romanian athlete who got through to the final, Florentina Marincu-Iuşco, came in 8th with a jump of 6.49 m. The gold medal went to Serbias Ivana Spanovic, who succeeded a jump of 6.99 meters.



    In Madrid this past Sunday, Romanias national rugby squad sustained an 18-21 defeat by Spain, in a fixture counting towards Rugby Europe Championship. It is the second defeat for the Romanian rugby team in this competition. Interesting to mention, though, is that the Romanians had a 13-nil lead during the game. For the Romanian lineup, Ionut Dumitru and Vladut Zaharia succeeded tries on 7 and 68 minutes, respectively. Then Florin Vlaicu converted two penalty kicks and managed a successful conversion. Spain managed three tries, all of them successfully converted.



    We go out with news from football, as this past weekend saw matches counting towards the 26th-round of League One, the last round of the regular season. Qualifying for the play-offs were CFR Cluj, FCSB, Universitatea Craiova, Astra Giurgiu, Viitorul Constanţa and Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. The teams that have got through to the play-out were FC Botoşani, Poli Iaşi, Dinamo, Hermannstadt, Gaz Metan, Dunărea, FC Voluntari and Concordia Chiajna.




    (translated by: Eugen Nasta)

  • Initiatives and Measures against Smoking

    Initiatives and Measures against Smoking

    Romania was one of the last countries in the EU to ban indoor smoking. It was only this spring that Parliament endorsed a very strict law in this respect, stirring mixed feelings among the Romanians. While some welcomed the measure, smokers obviously criticized it, including even some MPs, who said they have to walk the long corridors of the worlds second-largest administrative building, the Parliament Palace, in order to get to the special outdoor smoking areas.



    Consequently, the Senates Healthcare Committee tabled a number of amendments to the anti-smoking law, which will be discussed in the current parliamentary session. In short, if the amendments were adopted, smoking would be allowed in any indoor location, on condition that proper signs were placed in the designated areas.



    Meanwhile, 42,000 people die every year in Romania because of smoking-related problems, such as heart and circulatory diseases, malignant tumours and respiratory complications. More than half of the teenagers over 16 years of age have smoked at least once, and one-third of them are regular smokers. In this context, authorities intend to reduce significantly the number of smokers in the next two decades. At an international conference on “2035 – Romanias first smoke-free generation, President Klaus Iohannis pleaded for prevention, as a priority in healthcare policies.



    Klaus Iohannis: “We can save lives by means of prevention. By focusing today on education in view of prevention, including awareness of the risks entailed by smoking, we can give future generations a chance to live a healthier life and make informed lifestyle choices.



    In turn, Healthcare Minister Vlad Voiculescu urged Deputies to dismiss the Healthcare Committees proposed amendments to the anti-smoking law:



    Vlad Voiculescu: “This is an attack against the lives of all citizens, whether employers or employees, clients or staff, children or adults. This is why I am confident that the Chamber of Deputies will address this mistake. Relaxing this law cannot lead to any positive results, in terms of public healthcare.



    In 2004 Ireland was the first European country to ban smoking in enclosed areas. All the neighbouring states wondered how the Irish were going to succeed in keeping smoking out of their lively pubs. The Irish accepted the measure and adapted to it. So did the citizens of other European countries. Why would Romania be an exception? The experience of the other countries has proved that the economic effects of such a drastic law are not unbeatable, whereas the benefits for citizens health are undisputable.

    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Tennis: Tecău und Rojer gewinnen ATP-Turnier in Rotterdam

    Tennis: Tecău und Rojer gewinnen ATP-Turnier in Rotterdam

    Horia und Jean-Julien haben einen exzellenten Saisonstart hingelegt: Am Sonntag gelang ihnen im niederländischen Rotterdam der erste Turniersieg auf der ATP-Tour in diesem Jahr. Diesmal konnte Rojer sich von den eigenen Fans feiern lassen, nachdem die beiden im vergangenen Jahr auf der roten Erde von Bukarest triumphiert hatten. Au‎ßerdem ist es für beide Spieler ein Trost zum richtigen Zeitpunkt, nach dem enttäuschenden Halbfinal-Aus bei den Australian Open.



    Tecau hatte bereits 2012 in Rotterdam ein dramatisches Endspiel verloren, damals an der Seite des Schweden Robert Lindstedt. Und auch 2014 verlor er hier im Finale, gemeinsam mit Rojer. Jedesmal hatte ihm ein Doppelteam mit dem Franzosen Michael Llodra in der Besetzung den Weg zum Titelgewinn versperrt. Diesmal waren die Gegner Jamie Murray (der Bruder des weitaus bekannteren Weltranglistenvierten Andy Murray aus Schottland) und der Australier John Peers. Die beiden hatten sich im Halbfinale gegen den Rumänen Florin Mergea und den Briten Dominic Inglot durchgesetzt.



    Im Endspiel am Sonntag mussten Tecau und Rojer das Spiel aus einer schwierigen Situation heraus zu ihren Gunsten drehen. Murray und Peers gewannen den ersten Satz mit 6:3 und hatten gleich im ersten Spiel des zweiten Durchgangs zwei Break-Chancen. Da sie im ersten Satz bei eigenem Aufschlag nur fünf Punkte abgegeben hatten, hätte ein Break womöglich die Vorentscheidung bedeutet.



    Allerdings rettete das rumänisch-niederländische Duo diese wichtigen Bälle und gelang danach unmerklich aber sicher auf die Siegerstra‎ße. Mit einem einzigen Break holten Tecau und Rojer den zweiten Satz mit 6:3, die Partie musste im Match-Tiebreak entschieden werden. Auch wenn dieses am Ende knapp mit 10:8 an Horia und Jean Julien ging, hatten die beiden nie um den Sieg zittern müssen. Dank ihres ersten Turniererfolgs in diesem Jahr kletterten beide Spieler um drei Weltranglistenplätze nach oben und teilen sich nun Rang 10.