Radio România Internațional

Tag: rowing

September 25, 2022

GRAIN 211 ships carrying 4.7 million tons of agricultural products have
so far left Ukraine under an agreement brokered by the United Nations and
Turkey to unblock Ukrainian sea ports, the ministry of infrastructure in
Ukraine has announced. The agreement signed on July 22nd in Istanbul
provides for setting up safe corridors for the transport of Ukrainian grain.
Ukraine’s grain exports slumped after the Russian invasion in late February and
the blockade on the country’s Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices
and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East. Ukraine, a
major grain producer and exporter, used to have monthly grain shipments up to 6
million tons before the war. After the Russian invasion, Ukraine had to shift
to the road and river transport infrastructures to ship its grain to Eastern
Europe, but the quantities exported have been significantly lower due to some
logistic shortcomings.

ELECTION Italy might for the first time have a woman as a Prime Minister after
the legislative election today. And also for the first time since WWII, the far
right could come to power. According to the polls, Brothers of Italy, a party led
by Giorgia Meloni, with origins in a fascist movement is likely to gather
almost 25% of the votes. The far-right coalition, which is expected to win 50%
of the votes, also includes Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s
Forza Italia. The pro-European left wing is expected to muster fewer than 30%
of the total number of votes. According to Radio Romania correspondent in
Italy, in spite of the importance of this election, many Italians aren’t going
to the polls, which might destabilize the domestic situation. Polls show that
90% of the Italians are worried by soaring energy prices. Parties came with a
wide range of solutions, although not all of them have been presented clearly.

VISIT Over September 26-28, Romania’s Prime Minister, Nicolae
Ciuca is paying a visit to Tokyo to participate in the state funeral staged in
the honor of the country’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. According to a
government communiqué, the former Japanese Prime Minister made a significant
contribution to lifting the bilateral relations between the two countries to
the degree of a strategic partnership during the visit he paid to Bucharest in
2018, being the first Japanese Prime Minister to have visited Romania. Japan
is one of Romania’s main partners in Asia both at political and economic level
and there are all the prerequisites to transform this bilateral relation
spanning more than one century in a privileged relation at the level of
strategic partnership, Prime Minister Ciuca has said. On the sidelines of his
visit to Tokyo, the Romanian official will be received by his Japanese
counterpart Fumio Kishida and will be having talks with the delegation of the
Japan-Romania Parliamentary Friendship League chaired by Ichiro Aisawa and with
Hosoda Hiroyuki, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan.

SPORT The Romanian women’s double scull as well as women’s and men’s
eights from Romania are today participating in three finals of the World Rowing
Championships underway in Racice, the Czech Republic. The Romanian men’s double
scull made up of Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan became gold medalist on
Saturday while on Friday Ionela Cozmiuc of Romania came first in the
lightweight women’s single scull race. We recall that Cozmiuc also walked away
with gold from the European Championships in Munich this summer.

REFUGEES According to sources with the Romanian Border Police, 10,385
Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Saturday, 6.3% more than in the previous
day. Since February 10th, 2,408,155 Ukrainian nationals have entered
Romania. Checking at Romania’s borders has been done in accordance with the
provisions of the national and community legislation.

(bill)

25 September 2022
Sports flash

The World Rowing Championships are underway in Racice, The
Czech Republic. Among the Romanian crews likely to step onto a step of the
podium there is the defending Olympic and European Champion women’s pair made
of Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș. Also worth watching is the progress of the
women’s coxed eight crew, a European title holder as well.

In news from women’s handball, Romania’s champion team,
Rapid Bucharest, on Wednesday secured a comfortable 34-25 away win against Magura
Cisnadie, in a fixture counting towards the National League’s 5th
round. In another regular match, Baia Mare defeated Dunărea Brăila, 27-25. Quite
surprisingly, Gloria Buzău are at the top of the table, with 12 points in four
games. CSM Bucharest is the runner-up team, with 10 points in four games.

Former FCSB head-coach, Anton Petrea, on Wednesday was
appointed at the helm of a Chindia Târgovişte. The latter team’s former
head-coach, Adrian Mihalcea, had a mutual consent contract termination with
Chindia’ s management this past Tuesday. After 11 rounds in the Super League, Chindia
Târgovişte is at the bottom of the table in the rankings, with a mere 3 points and
a no-win record.

Romania’s national football team is in Helsinki for a Nations
League fixture against Finland on Friday. In League B’s third group, Romanian’s
national team is 4th-placed according to the as-it-stands table, with
only 3 points on its record sheet. Finland is 3rd-placed, with 4
points, Bosnia and Herzegovina are at the top of the table, with 8 points,
followed by Montenegro, with 7. In Bosnia’s Zelnica this coming Friday, Bosnia
and Herzegovina go against Montenegro. In Bucharest on Monday, Romania takes on
Bosnia and Herzegovina, while in Podgorica, Montenegro plays Finland. (EN)

—–

22 September 2022
Sports flash

The World Rowing Championships are underway in Racice, The
Czech Republic. Among the Romanian crews likely to step onto a step of the
podium there is the defending Olympic and European Champion women’s pair made
of Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș. Also worth watching is the progress of the
women’s coxed eight crew, a European title holder as well.

In news from women’s handball, Romania’s champion team,
Rapid Bucharest, on Wednesday secured a comfortable 34-25 away win against Magura
Cisnadie, in a fixture counting towards the National League’s 5th
round. In another regular match, Baia Mare defeated Dunărea Brăila, 27-25. Quite
surprisingly, Gloria Buzău are at the top of the table, with 12 points in four
games. CSM Bucharest is the runner-up team, with 10 points in four games.

Former FCSB head-coach, Anton Petrea, on Wednesday was
appointed at the helm of a Chindia Târgovişte. The latter team’s former
head-coach, Adrian Mihalcea, had a mutual consent contract termination with
Chindia’ s management this past Tuesday. After 11 rounds in the Super League, Chindia
Târgovişte is at the bottom of the table in the rankings, with a mere 3 points and
a no-win record.

Romania’s national football team is in Helsinki for a Nations
League fixture against Finland on Friday. In League B’s third group, Romanian’s
national team is 4th-placed according to the as-it-stands table, with
only 3 points on its record sheet. Finland is 3rd-placed, with 4
points, Bosnia and Herzegovina are at the top of the table, with 8 points,
followed by Montenegro, with 7. In Bosnia’s Zelnica this coming Friday, Bosnia
and Herzegovina go against Montenegro. In Bucharest on Monday, Romania takes on
Bosnia and Herzegovina, while in Podgorica, Montenegro plays Finland. (EN)

—–

22 September 2022
September 4, 2022 UPDATE

School — Almost 3 million Romanian pupils and preschoolers will start school on Monday. Many changes mark the new school year. It will be structured into 5 modules, separated by 5 holidays. Mandatory tests are eliminated and the average mark obtained at the end of the secondary school is eliminated from the calculation of the admission-to-high-school average mark. Starting this year, end-of-module assessments are no longer mandatory, there will be only one average mark for each subject, and at the end of the year students can no longer be expelled. The Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu admitted that one of the problems of Romanian schools is the lack of fire safety certificates for many of them. Moreover, more than half of the educational units in the country, about 57%, do not have security services at the beginning of the school year.

Berlin — The German government, currently faced with a cost-of-living crisis that many families cannot cope with, on Sunday announced a support package worth 65 billion Euros, DPA reports. The measures include a new, cheaper public transport ticket, a one-off sum of 300 and 200 Euros respectively for pensioners and students to pay the energy bill, an increase in allowances for the elderly or those unable to work, and an increase of 18 Euros in the child allowance. An amount of 300 Euros, also for the payment of energy bills, had already been agreed upon for working people. Moreover, the government will introduce lower tariffs for a certain basic ceiling of energy consumption, above which the price will increase. According to the head of the Bundesbank, the German central bank, the inflation rate, which reached 7.9% in August, is likely to reach 10% by the end of the year, a first since the 1950s. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Scholz government has already unlocked two aid packages for families, totaling around 30 billion Euros.

Rowing — Romania won 9 medals, 5 gold and 4 silver, on Sunday, at the Under-23 European Rowing Championships in Belgium, in 11 finals. The Romanian athletes also obtained two fifth places. Romania participated with 12 crews and 38 athletes at the Under-23 European Championships in Belgium. Recently, at the European Rowing Championships, Romanian athletes won no less than 8 medals, 5 gold and 3 bronze, this being the biggest achievement obtained by Romanian rowers at an edition of the Continental Championships.

Competition — The “George Enescu” International Competition started on Sunday with the concert of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic, conducted by Ainars Rubikis and of soloists who won the 2020-2021 edition, at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. The event, which this year takes place under the motto Music of Hope, marks 64 years since the first edition, opened on September 4, 1958. This year, 34 young musicians from all over the world qualified for the semifinals of the competition, in the sections Cello, Violin and Piano. 22 orchestral and chamber works will enter the competition in the Composition Section, where an Originality Award will also be granted. The winning works will be announced on September 18.

Ukraine — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he had asked the EU to urgently allocate the next tranche of aid for his country and pressed for a new set of sanctions against Russia, during a telephone conversation with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Reuters reports. Zelenski, who warned Europeans to expect a tough winter due to the cuts in Russian oil and gas exports, also said he and Von Der Leyen coordinated their measures to limit Russias surplus profits from oil and gas sales. Earlier, the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihal said that Kyiv expected to receive a five billion Euro installment from the EU next week, in the form of macro-financial aid. (LS)

4 September 2022
August 28, 2022 UPDATE

WAR IN
UKRAINE
– The fires at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine
occupied by the Russian invasion forces fuel fears of a major nuclear disaster.
International experts are still waiting on the military forces on the ground to
allow them to visit the plant, whereas the Russians and the Ukrainians accuse
each other of launching artillery fire that might destroy the nuclear
installations. The governor of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Oleksandr Starukh, has
urged the locals to take iodine pills in the event of a radiation leak. 10
shells allegedly went off close to an installation storing spent nuclear fuel
and another 3 near a building that houses fresh nuclear fuel. On the other
hand, radiation levels remain within normal limits.

REFUGEES – The Border Police General Inspectorate announced
that some 538 thousand people, both Romanian and foreign nationals, entered or
left Romania on Saturday using some 142 thousand transport vehicles. Some 14
thousand Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Saturday, up by 7.60% compared
to the previous day. Some 2.1 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania
starting February 10, two weeks before the start of the war in this country.

COVID-19
– 1,403 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania,
1,315 less compared to the previous day, the Health Ministry announced on
Sunday. Since the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago, some 3.2
million people got infected. 260 patients are currently treated in ICUs, of
whom 212 have not taken the vaccine. In the last 24 hours, six COVID patients
have died. Since the start of the pandemic, some 66 thousand people diagnosed
with COVID-19 have died.

CRASHES
-
A light aircraft crashed on Sunday morning in Colibița
lake
in northwestern Romania, carrying two people onboard, the Bistriţa-Năsăud County
Inspectorate for Emergency Situations announced. The pilot, a 65-year-old man,
died, while the passenger, a 45-year-old German national, suffered minor
injuries and was transported to hospital for further medical investigations. On
Saturday, prosecutors with the Bucharest Court of Appeal opened an
investigation into the plane crash in Letca Veche, Giurgiu County in southern
Romania, which killed two people, a 54-year-old man who was piloting a small
plane and a 27-year-old woman, his relative. Their bodies were found carbonized
by first responders. The man had a vast piloting experience and seems to have
attempted to crash-land the plane. According to eye-witness reports, the plane had
caught fire before crashing. The cause of the crash might be a technical
problem with the aircraft’s engine.

WATER RESERVE – Romania’s water
reserve dropped at the start of this week, although urban areas reported
plentiful supplies. According to the Water Management Authority, reservoirs
receded from 80% in July to 70% at present. In nearly 700 settlements, local
authorities have introduced water supply restrictions. The prolonged drought
has destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland.

ROWING – Romanian
athlete Cătălin Chirilă scooped bronze in the 500m single canoe race at the
World Supercup in Oklahoma, the USA. The medal is the latest achievement in
what has been an excellent season for Chirilă, who won gold in the 1000m event
and silver in the 500m event at the World Championships in Halifax, Canda, as
well as gold in the 1000m race and bronze in the 500m race at the European
Championships in Munich, Germany.

POLO – The Romanian women’s polo team on Sunday lost 24-3 to Greece in Group A
at the European Polo Championships underway in Split, Croatia. In the first
match on Saturday, Romania lost to Germany 10-15. Romania was drawn in a group
alongside the Netherlands, Croatia, Hungary, Greece and Germany. This is the
first presence for the Romanian women’s team at a European Polo Championship.

TENNIS – Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep is seeded 7th in the women’s singles at
the US Open and on Monday will take on Daria Snigur of Ukraine (WTA 125), who
reached the main draw after playing the preliminary rounds. A former world no.
1, Halep last year reached the round of 16 at the US Open, while her best
performance in this competition was the 2015 semi-final. Irina Begu, WTA no.
34, will take on Elise Mertens of Belgium (WTA 32) in the opening round.
Mertens leads 3-0 head-to-head. Sorana Cîrstea, (WTA 38) will play Laura
Siegemund of Germany (216 WTA). Each player has previously won a match against
their opponent. Gabriela Ruse (102 WTA) will have a complicated match against
Daria Saville of Australia (WTA 73). Finally, Jaqueline Cristian will return to
the tennis court after a long absence owing to a serious injury and will go up
against the competition’s second seed, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. Another
three Romanian tennis players, Ana Bogdan, Alexandra Cadanțu-Ignatik and
Gabriela Lee were knocked out in the preliminaries. (VP)

28 August 2022
Sports Roundup

For a long period of time, the Romanian sport has not seen days as rich in performances as the last weekend. The gold medals won by the swimmer David Popovici and his new world record at the continental championships in Italy somewhat overshadowed the results of the Romanian athletes who won medals in Munich, at the European Multisport Championships.

Most medals were won by the Romanian rowers, who returned home with five gold and three bronze medals, this being the best result in the history of Romanian rowing in the European competition. Gold medals were won by Ioana Vrînceanu and Denisa Tîlvescu in the womens pair and by Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan in the mens pair. In the double scull event, the Olympic champions Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș reconfirmed their supremacy. In the single scull event, the light category, Ionela Cozmiuc won gold. The last gold medals were brought by the women’s coxed eight crew, including Magdalena Rusu, Iuliana Buhuş, Ancuța Bodnar, Denisa Tîlvescu, Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu, Simona Radiş, and coxswain Adrian Munteanu. Bronze medals were obtained in the women’s four, men’s four and men’s quadruple sculls.

At the European Women’s Gymnastics Championships, the juniors stood out with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Sabrina Voinea won the gold in the vault event, and Amalia Puflea in the floor event. Silver medals were won in the all around team and individual competitions, through Amalia Ghigoartă. Amalia Puflea won bronze in the beam final, and Sabrina Voinea also got bronze in the floor event. In the seniors competition, the best result was the 4th place taken by Ana Bărbosu, in the floor event. This week the men gymnasts will enter the competition.

At the European Table Tennis Championships Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szőcs won silver medals. The Romanian pair was very close to winning the gold, but lost the mixed doubles final to Emmanuel Lebesson/Jianan Yuan from France.

Now news from football. From Friday to Monday, matches of the fifth stage of the Romanian football Super League were played. On Friday, FCU Craiova defeated FC Argeş, away from home, 2-0. On Saturday, in Arad, UTA defeated Universitatea Cluj 2-1, and in Ploieşti, Petrolul won the traditional derby with Rapid Bucharest 1-0. On Sunday, Universitatea Craiova won 1-0 at home the match against CS Mioveni, FC Botoşani defeated CFR Cluj 1-0 away from home, and FCSB defeated Chindia Târgovişte 3-2 in Bucharest. The two games played on Monday, namely FC Voluntari with Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Farul Constanţa with FC Hermannstadt, ended in a draw: 0 all. FC Botoşani leads the standings, with 11 points, being followed by four teams with 9 points each: Hermannstadt, Farul, CFR and Rapid. (LS)

16 August 2022
Sports Roundup

For a long period of time, the Romanian sport has not seen days as rich in performances as the last weekend. The gold medals won by the swimmer David Popovici and his new world record at the continental championships in Italy somewhat overshadowed the results of the Romanian athletes who won medals in Munich, at the European Multisport Championships.

Most medals were won by the Romanian rowers, who returned home with five gold and three bronze medals, this being the best result in the history of Romanian rowing in the European competition. Gold medals were won by Ioana Vrînceanu and Denisa Tîlvescu in the womens pair and by Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan in the mens pair. In the double scull event, the Olympic champions Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș reconfirmed their supremacy. In the single scull event, the light category, Ionela Cozmiuc won gold. The last gold medals were brought by the women’s coxed eight crew, including Magdalena Rusu, Iuliana Buhuş, Ancuța Bodnar, Denisa Tîlvescu, Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu, Simona Radiş, and coxswain Adrian Munteanu. Bronze medals were obtained in the women’s four, men’s four and men’s quadruple sculls.

At the European Women’s Gymnastics Championships, the juniors stood out with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Sabrina Voinea won the gold in the vault event, and Amalia Puflea in the floor event. Silver medals were won in the all around team and individual competitions, through Amalia Ghigoartă. Amalia Puflea won bronze in the beam final, and Sabrina Voinea also got bronze in the floor event. In the seniors competition, the best result was the 4th place taken by Ana Bărbosu, in the floor event. This week the men gymnasts will enter the competition.

At the European Table Tennis Championships Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szőcs won silver medals. The Romanian pair was very close to winning the gold, but lost the mixed doubles final to Emmanuel Lebesson/Jianan Yuan from France.

Now news from football. From Friday to Monday, matches of the fifth stage of the Romanian football Super League were played. On Friday, FCU Craiova defeated FC Argeş, away from home, 2-0. On Saturday, in Arad, UTA defeated Universitatea Cluj 2-1, and in Ploieşti, Petrolul won the traditional derby with Rapid Bucharest 1-0. On Sunday, Universitatea Craiova won 1-0 at home the match against CS Mioveni, FC Botoşani defeated CFR Cluj 1-0 away from home, and FCSB defeated Chindia Târgovişte 3-2 in Bucharest. The two games played on Monday, namely FC Voluntari with Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Farul Constanţa with FC Hermannstadt, ended in a draw: 0 all. FC Botoşani leads the standings, with 11 points, being followed by four teams with 9 points each: Hermannstadt, Farul, CFR and Rapid. (LS)

16 August 2022
Athlete of the week

The ICF 2022 Canoe Sprint World Championships were
held in Halifax, Canada, last week. The
competition lived up to everyone’s expectations in every respect; nautical
sports lovers had the chance the watch, live or via video transmissions, the
best of the best in terms of rowing. In Canada, a 6-strong Romanian delegation proved
its mettle in the competition, with three athletes competing in the kayak and three
others in the canoe races. The gender balance also worked, as two women and one
man competed in the kayak races, while two men and one woman took the start in
the canoe events. The differences lay in the clubs rowers are signed up by: three
of them compete for CSA Steaua, two for CS Dinamo, while one woman rower is
signed up by Olimpia Bucharest. The Romanian Kayak-Canoe Federation’s set
target was the earning of a position among places 4 to 6, and another position,
among places 6 to 9, so the eventual aim was the qualification to two separate
finals. The set target was met from the very first days of competition, when Catalin
Chirila advanced to the 500 and 1000m men’s canoe final. Chirila succeeded a
straight qualification, each time winning the heat he competed in. In the final, Catalin Chirila
provided a stunning surprise: he became world champion in the
1000m Olympic race and won silver in the 500m race. Reason enough for Radio
Romania International to designate Catalin Chirila the Athlete of the week.

Cătălin Chirilă was
born in Tulcea, on 11 May 11, 1998. He is signed up by the Steaua Bucharest
Army Sports Club. His coaches are Petre Kondrat, who works for the army club
and Florin Popescu, of the national team. Catalin Chirila’s first international
performance occurred in the men’s canoe double, when, jointly with veteran
rower Victor Mihalachi, Chirila won gold in 2019, in the European Games in Minsk, Belarus, in the 1000m race. Then in 2021, in the European Championships in Poland’s
Poznan, Chirila won bronze in the 1000m race. In the Tokyo Olympics’, the Chirila/Mihalachi
pair came in 5th. As of 2022, Catalin Chirila competes in men’s
singles events. At the World Cup stages in Racice and Poznan, Catalin Chirila’s
results were promising. The Romanian confirmed his excellent performance so far in his most recent notable run in
Halifax.(EN)

9 August 2022
Athlete of the week

The ICF 2022 Canoe Sprint World Championships were
held in Halifax, Canada, last week. The
competition lived up to everyone’s expectations in every respect; nautical
sports lovers had the chance the watch, live or via video transmissions, the
best of the best in terms of rowing. In Canada, a 6-strong Romanian delegation proved
its mettle in the competition, with three athletes competing in the kayak and three
others in the canoe races. The gender balance also worked, as two women and one
man competed in the kayak races, while two men and one woman took the start in
the canoe events. The differences lay in the clubs rowers are signed up by: three
of them compete for CSA Steaua, two for CS Dinamo, while one woman rower is
signed up by Olimpia Bucharest. The Romanian Kayak-Canoe Federation’s set
target was the earning of a position among places 4 to 6, and another position,
among places 6 to 9, so the eventual aim was the qualification to two separate
finals. The set target was met from the very first days of competition, when Catalin
Chirila advanced to the 500 and 1000m men’s canoe final. Chirila succeeded a
straight qualification, each time winning the heat he competed in. In the final, Catalin Chirila
provided a stunning surprise: he became world champion in the
1000m Olympic race and won silver in the 500m race. Reason enough for Radio
Romania International to designate Catalin Chirila the Athlete of the week.

Cătălin Chirilă was
born in Tulcea, on 11 May 11, 1998. He is signed up by the Steaua Bucharest
Army Sports Club. His coaches are Petre Kondrat, who works for the army club
and Florin Popescu, of the national team. Catalin Chirila’s first international
performance occurred in the men’s canoe double, when, jointly with veteran
rower Victor Mihalachi, Chirila won gold in 2019, in the European Games in Minsk, Belarus, in the 1000m race. Then in 2021, in the European Championships in Poland’s
Poznan, Chirila won bronze in the 1000m race. In the Tokyo Olympics’, the Chirila/Mihalachi
pair came in 5th. As of 2022, Catalin Chirila competes in men’s
singles events. At the World Cup stages in Racice and Poznan, Catalin Chirila’s
results were promising. The Romanian confirmed his excellent performance so far in his most recent notable run in
Halifax.(EN)

9 August 2022
Sports roundup

The Romanian football side Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe won
Romania’s Cup Winners’ Cup after beating CFR Cluj 2-1 in Arad on Saturday. For the
central-Romanian club established in 2011, this was the second trophy won this
year after Romania’s football Cup. The coach of the team, Cristiano Bergodi of
Italy, had already won this trophy in 2007, with Rapid Bucharest.

Adrian Păun of the Cluj side, winners of this year’s
edition of the national championship, was the first to score, the second minute
of the match. Sepsi’s equalizer came via Cosmin Matei, in the first half’s overtime,
and Mario Rondon (Venezuela), who ironically enough had played for CFR Cluj
until the summer of 2021, scored the winning goal for Sepsi on 85 min.

Romania won 9 medals at the European Junion Swimming
Championships held in Otopeni, near Bucharest. Of them, 5 were gold medals, won
by the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, by David Popovici in the 50m, 100m and
200m freestyle finals and by Vlad Ştefan Stancu, in the 1,500m freestyle race. Silver
medals went to the 4x100m freestyle medley team, to Bianca Costea in the women’s
50m freestyle final and to Vlad Stancu, in the 400m and 800m freestyle races.
Romania thus came 3rd in the nations’ ranking, after Hungary and
Poland.

At the Lucerne Regatta counting for the 3rd
stage of this year’s World Cup, Romanian athletes won 6 medals, of which one
gold, two silver and three bronze. Romania came first in the women’s double
sculls, thanks to Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş. Romania’s
women’s pairs and women’s four races, as well as the women’s 8 team, won bronze
medals.

In rugby, Romania defeated Uruguay, 30-22 on Sunday,
in a test match in Montevideo. Romania scored 3 tries and 3 conversion kicks,
and was also awarded 3 penalty kicks. Romania had one player, Tudor Butnariu, sent
out of the field on 13 minutes for a reckless tackle. Next Sunday, the 2 teams
will play a second test match, also in Montevideo. (AMP)

11 July 2022
Sports roundup

The Romanian football side Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe won
Romania’s Cup Winners’ Cup after beating CFR Cluj 2-1 in Arad on Saturday. For the
central-Romanian club established in 2011, this was the second trophy won this
year after Romania’s football Cup. The coach of the team, Cristiano Bergodi of
Italy, had already won this trophy in 2007, with Rapid Bucharest.

Adrian Păun of the Cluj side, winners of this year’s
edition of the national championship, was the first to score, the second minute
of the match. Sepsi’s equalizer came via Cosmin Matei, in the first half’s overtime,
and Mario Rondon (Venezuela), who ironically enough had played for CFR Cluj
until the summer of 2021, scored the winning goal for Sepsi on 85 min.

Romania won 9 medals at the European Junion Swimming
Championships held in Otopeni, near Bucharest. Of them, 5 were gold medals, won
by the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, by David Popovici in the 50m, 100m and
200m freestyle finals and by Vlad Ştefan Stancu, in the 1,500m freestyle race. Silver
medals went to the 4x100m freestyle medley team, to Bianca Costea in the women’s
50m freestyle final and to Vlad Stancu, in the 400m and 800m freestyle races.
Romania thus came 3rd in the nations’ ranking, after Hungary and
Poland.

At the Lucerne Regatta counting for the 3rd
stage of this year’s World Cup, Romanian athletes won 6 medals, of which one
gold, two silver and three bronze. Romania came first in the women’s double
sculls, thanks to Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş. Romania’s
women’s pairs and women’s four races, as well as the women’s 8 team, won bronze
medals.

In rugby, Romania defeated Uruguay, 30-22 on Sunday,
in a test match in Montevideo. Romania scored 3 tries and 3 conversion kicks,
and was also awarded 3 penalty kicks. Romania had one player, Tudor Butnariu, sent
out of the field on 13 minutes for a reckless tackle. Next Sunday, the 2 teams
will play a second test match, also in Montevideo. (AMP)

11 July 2022
Sports roundup

The Romanian rower Cătălin Chirilă has walked away with two medals in the recently-held World-Cup-level rowing competition in Racice, the Czech Republic. This past Saturday, Chirila won bronze in the men’s canoe single 500m final, while on Sunday, Cătălin Chirilă won silver in the men’s canoe single 1,000 final. Romania’s representative in the women’s canoe single events for the same races, Mălina Trifescu, failed to qualify for the 500m and 1,000m races finals.

The Romanian delegation will then travel to Poland’s Poznan, where yet another World-Cup-level competition will be held this coming weekend. In Poznan, Catalin Chirila will prove his mettle in the 500m, 1,000m and 5,000m races, while Malina Trifescu will compete in the 200m and 500m races.

This past Saturday in Stavanger, Norway, in the first leg counting towards the EHF European Cup in men’s handball, Minaur Baia Mare sustained a 25-29 defeat by Nærbø. The return leg of the final tie will be played in Baia Mare this coming Saturday.

With a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win against Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the second round as part of the ongoing Roland Garros tennis tournament, this past Sunday Sorana Cirstea advanced to the second round. 26th- seeded Cirstea will face US opponent Sloane Stephens. Also in the first round, Gabriela Ruse sustained a 3-6, 1-6 defeat by 31st-seeded tennis player in Roland Garros, Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

In shooting sports, this past Sunday the Romanian Laura Ilie came in 2nd in the 10m air rifle event as part of the shooting sports Grand Prix final held in Granada, Spain. Laura Ilie’s most recent feat has earned the Romanian the 2nd place according to the event’s world rankings. Laura continues to amass points that will earn her the qualification to the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris. Next week Laura Ilie will compete in the Grand Prix contest in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This past Saturday, first-leg fixtures were played, decisive for the teams’ promotion or staying in Romanian League One in football. In Chiajna, second-tier squad Concordia defeated Chindia Targoviste, 2-1. Then in Cluj, the local side Universitatea, also a second-tier team, defeated Dinamo Bucharest, 2-nil. The return-leg matches are scheduled this coming Sunday, May 29th.

In the last round as part of Romanian League One’s Group 2, on Friday, Universitatea Craiova grabbed a 4-1 home win against Farul Constanta. In Buzau on Saturday, FCSB defeated CFR Cluj, 3-1. CFR Cluj emerged as the new title holders as early as last week, for the fifth time running and for the eighth time in the club’s history.

(EN)

23 May 2022
Sports roundup

The Romanian rower Cătălin Chirilă has walked away with two medals in the recently-held World-Cup-level rowing competition in Racice, the Czech Republic. This past Saturday, Chirila won bronze in the men’s canoe single 500m final, while on Sunday, Cătălin Chirilă won silver in the men’s canoe single 1,000 final. Romania’s representative in the women’s canoe single events for the same races, Mălina Trifescu, failed to qualify for the 500m and 1,000m races finals.

The Romanian delegation will then travel to Poland’s Poznan, where yet another World-Cup-level competition will be held this coming weekend. In Poznan, Catalin Chirila will prove his mettle in the 500m, 1,000m and 5,000m races, while Malina Trifescu will compete in the 200m and 500m races.

This past Saturday in Stavanger, Norway, in the first leg counting towards the EHF European Cup in men’s handball, Minaur Baia Mare sustained a 25-29 defeat by Nærbø. The return leg of the final tie will be played in Baia Mare this coming Saturday.

With a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win against Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the second round as part of the ongoing Roland Garros tennis tournament, this past Sunday Sorana Cirstea advanced to the second round. 26th- seeded Cirstea will face US opponent Sloane Stephens. Also in the first round, Gabriela Ruse sustained a 3-6, 1-6 defeat by 31st-seeded tennis player in Roland Garros, Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

In shooting sports, this past Sunday the Romanian Laura Ilie came in 2nd in the 10m air rifle event as part of the shooting sports Grand Prix final held in Granada, Spain. Laura Ilie’s most recent feat has earned the Romanian the 2nd place according to the event’s world rankings. Laura continues to amass points that will earn her the qualification to the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris. Next week Laura Ilie will compete in the Grand Prix contest in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This past Saturday, first-leg fixtures were played, decisive for the teams’ promotion or staying in Romanian League One in football. In Chiajna, second-tier squad Concordia defeated Chindia Targoviste, 2-1. Then in Cluj, the local side Universitatea, also a second-tier team, defeated Dinamo Bucharest, 2-nil. The return-leg matches are scheduled this coming Sunday, May 29th.

In the last round as part of Romanian League One’s Group 2, on Friday, Universitatea Craiova grabbed a 4-1 home win against Farul Constanta. In Buzau on Saturday, FCSB defeated CFR Cluj, 3-1. CFR Cluj emerged as the new title holders as early as last week, for the fifth time running and for the eighth time in the club’s history.

(EN)

23 May 2022
The year 2021 in sports – Part 2

The year 2021 worldwide, just like the previous year,
was affected by the new Covid-19 pandemic. The world of sports was no exception
to that, but those involved succeeded to cope with the situation. Competitions
were held, that had initially been scheduled in 2020, such as the European Football championship or the Olympic Games, even though the latter event was
held under special safety conditions. We have so far come up with the first
part of the 2021 retrospective in sports, specifically, we have covered the
first six months of the year. We’re yet again spinning the yarn of 2021 sports
year. In July, tennis player Elena Gabriela Ruse won the Hamburg tournament,
the first WTA success for the Romanian. Ruse secured a 7-6, 6-4 win against Germany’s Andreea Petcovic. Prior to the
tournament, Elena Ruse was 198th placed according to the WTA rankings. She came
straight from the qualifiers and her trail back then included wins over some of
the tournament’s seeded players, among whom Ukraine’s Daria Yastremska, the
top-seeded player in Hamburg.

The Olympic Games in Tokyo also kicked off in July. In
Tokyo, four times did the Romanian delegation step onto the steps of the
podium, while three of the medals went to the rowing crews. The women’s double
sculls crew made of Simona Radiș and Ancuța
Bodnar won the Olympic title. Silver went to the men’s four coxless crew made
of Mihăiţă Ţigănescu, Mugurel Semciuc, Ştefan Berariu and Cosmin Pascari. The
Romanian men’s pair made of Ciprian Tudosă and Marius Cozmiuc also won silver. The Romanian delegation’s only singles
medal was won by veteran epee fencer Ana-Maria
Popescu, who also walked home with silver.

In August, tennis player Horia Tecau and the German Kevin
Krawietz played the finals in Toronto, a tournament with almost three million USD up
for grabs. Top-seeded all-Croatian pair made of Nikola Metkic and Mate Pavic overpowered
their Romanian-Dutch challengers. Raluca Olaru and Nadia Kicenok won the
women’s doubles final of the WTA tournament in Chicago, securing a 7-6, 5-7,
10-8 win against Japanese – Ukrainian pair made of Makoto Ninomiya and Nadia
Kicenok’s twin sister, Ljudmila.

Romanian sports legend Ivan Patzaichin passed away in
September. The greatest Romanian rower of all time died at the age of 71
because of a fatal illness. In the Polish locality Kruszwica, the Romanian
rowing delegation won ten medals, of which five were gold and five silver, as
part of the European U-21 Rowing Championship. The women’s coxed four and coxless four crews won the Olympic titles. The coxed eight and the lightweight singles crews
also won gold. Also gold went to the men’s coxless four crew. Romania came in 1st according to the nations’ final
rankings. Also in September, at the US Open, British tennis player, 18-year-old
Emma Raducanu, whose father is Romanian, won the tournament. Emma was the only
tennis player coming straight from the qualifiers who won a Grand Slam
tournament.

In October, the women’s doubles event as part of the
WTA Nur-Sultan tournament in Kazakhstan was won by Monica Niculescu and
Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, who outclassed the all-Russian pair made of Anghelina
Gabueva and Anastasia Zaharova, c6-2, 4-6, 10-5. Then in Moscow, Raluca Olaru
and Ukrainian Nadia Kicenok reached as far as the tournament’s finals. In November, swimmer David Popovici won gold in the
200m freestyle event as part of the short-course European swimming
Championships in Kazan, Russia. 17-year-old Popovici won his first European seniors’
title, also setting a new national record. Robert Glinta won silver and bronze
in the 100m and 50m backstroke events. Then Romania’s men’s tennis team
advanced to the qualifiers of the Davis Cup final tournament. In Cluj, the
Romanian team outperformed the national team of Peru, 4-nil.

The World IHF Women’s Championships were held in Spain
in December. With one of the world’s best handballers, Cristina Neagu, absent
from the line-up, Romania came in 13th according to the final
rankings. However, the Romanian women’s handball team is the only national
squad to have competed in all editions of the World IHF Championships. In
December, fencer Ana-Maria Popescu officially retired from competition, having
won the silver medal in the World Epee Cup in Dubai. Previously, Popescu had
been awarded the World Cup Trophy for the 2020-2021 competition season.

Our retrospective of the year 2021 in sports has come
to an end. We keep our hopes high for 2022 to be a better year, for
competitors, head-coaches and sports lovers alike.

(EN)

28 December 2021
Sports flash

U-BT Cluj-Napoca Romanian basketball team has advanced
to the second round of Champions League’s group stage. This past Wednesday, U-BT Cluj-Napoca grabbed a nail-biting 103-101 away win against Turkish
challengers Daruşşafaka Istanbul. The win booked the Romanians the top position
in Group G. With an 88-70 lead, on 32 minutes the host team was 18 points clear
of their Romanian opponents. However, U-BT Cluj-Napoca managed a stunning
comeback for the final part of the game. Two minutes from time Darussafaka had
the lead, 101-94, but U-BT Cluj-Napoca scored nine points in a row, and won.
First-timers in the Champions League, U-BT Cluj-Napoca had a group-stage record
of five wins and one defeat. In Group G’s other fixture, Israeli team Hapoel
Holon outperformed Italian opponents Happy Casa Brindisi, 84-80. If they want to make headway into the competition, Hapoel and Darușșafaka
will have to compete in the playoffs.

In news from rowing, Ancuta Bodnar has been
designated the Best Athlete of the Year 2021 by her club Dinamo Bucharest. We recall
that jointly with Simona Radis, Ancuta Bodnar won gold in the women’s double
sculls race in the Tokyo Olympics. Simona Radis had previously been designated
the best Athlete in 2021 by her club, Steaua Bucharest.

The Romanian Volleyball federation this past Wednesday
held a ceremony to mark 90 years since the Romanian Volleyball Federation has
been set up. As part of the ceremony, awards went to the Romanian men’s line-up
who in the 1980 won domestic volleyball’s only medal, bronze, at the Olympic
Games in Moscow. Six former volleyball players attended the ceremony, of the
line-up who won the medals 41 years ago. They are Constantin Stere, Nicu Stoian,
Dan Gîrleanu, Marius Căta-Chiţiga, Gunther Enescu and Sorin Macavei.

In news from domestic football, Flavius Stoican is the
new Dinamo head-coach. We recall Stoican is a former Dinamo footballer of the early
2000’s. Stoican had two previous stints as a Dinamo head-coach seven years ago.
Flavious Stoican is in for Mircea Rednic, who took over on October 1st.
Rednic’s record as a Dynamo head-coach was dismally unconvincing. With Mircea Rednic
at the helm, Dinamo managed only one winning fixture, two draws and was
defeated in seven games. One of the iconic footballers of Dinamo in the 1980s
and the 1990s, Mircea Rednic’s most remarkable feat is the winning of the
domestic title 14 years ago, in 2007. At present Dinamo is 15th-placed
according to the domestic rankings, the last-but-one position in the as-it-stands
table.

(Translation by Eugen Nasta)

23 December 2021