Tag: Sports Flash

In the women’s basketball Euroleague, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
lost on Wednesday to Casademont Zaragoza of Spain 86-57. In the other Group B
fixtures, Fenerbahçe Istanbul won 96-66 against Valencia, ASVEL Lyon lost 57-67
to Miskolc of Hungary at home, while Schio of Italy won 70-50 against Lublin of
Poland. The next match for Sepsi is against Schio at home on October 11.

In the men’s EuroCup basketball competition, in Group B,
U-BT Cluj-Napoca lost on Wednesday to Türk Telekom Ankara of Turkey 80-71. This
was the first match of the season for the Romanian champions in the second-tier
European inter-club competition. In the other Group B fixture on Tuesday, Ulm
of Germany won 80-70 against Trento of Italy. U-BT Cluj will next take on Śląsk
Wrocław of Poland away from home on October 11.

Monica Niculescu and Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine were knocked
out in the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, totaling some 8
mln USD in total prizes. The Romanian-Ukrainian pair lost to Beatriz Haddad
Maia of Brazil and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 6-0, 6-3. The performance
earned them each a 34,500-dollar check and 120 doubles points.

In the women’s handball National League, in round 6, Rapid Bucharest
won 30-22 against Gloria Bistrița at home. In Craiova, the local side SCM won
27-24 against SCM Târgu-Jiu, while HC Zalău won 28-23 against Știința Bucharest. In Cisnădie, Măgura drew
36-36 against SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea. The biggest goal difference was reported in
the match pitting Dunărea Brăila against the local side Minaur Baia-Mare, final
score 30-21. On Thursday, CSM Bucharest will play Corona Brașov. Râmnicu Vâlcea
tops the league tables with 16 points, followed by Brăila and Craiova, each
with 13 points. CSM Bucharest is in 4th place with 12 points although two less matches.
(VP)

Farul Constanța had the perfect debut in the 2023-2024 season of inter-club competitions. On Wednesday, in Ovidiu, Gheorghe Hagis trainees won 1-0 against Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol. The only goal was scored by David Kiki on minute 56. Farul thus picked up its game after Saturdays defeat in the Romanian Super Cup conceded to Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. It was a close match, both sides missing good scoring opportunities. After Kikis goal, the Moldovan champions had a number of scoring opportunities, but Farul mounted a good defense and got lucky several times.

The return leg is scheduled for next Tuesday in Tiraspol. The winner of the match will play in the second preliminary round of Champions League against either Maccabi Haifa of Israel or Hamrun Spartans of Malta. In the first leg Maccabi won 4-0 away from home. If it gets ousted by Sheriff in Champions League, Farul will play in the second preliminary round of Europa Conference League. The possible opponent for the Romanian champions is the loser of the match pitting Uratu of Armenia against Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia. In the first leg, the Bosnian side won 1-0.

In other Champions League fixtures, let us note the Bulgarian club Ludogorets lost to Ballkani Kosovo 0-2 away from home. Another surprising result is the 0-0 draw between Hungarian champions Ferencvaros against Klaskvik of the Faeroe Islands. Another two interesting matches ended in a 1-1 draw: Partizani Tirana vs. BATE Borisov, played in Belarus, and FC Astana vs. Dinamo Tbilisi, played in Kazakhstan. (VP)

The Steaua Bucharest Army Sports Club (CSA) on Wednesday celebrated 76 years of existence. Over the years, Steaua brought Romania 31 gold Olympic medals and 705 gold medals in world competitions. The clubs all-time top performers include Iosif Sârbu, Romanias first Olympic medalist in 1952 in Helsinki, athlete Iolanda Balaș, two-time Olympic champion in the high jump event, holding 5 Olympic records and 14 world records throughout her career, tennis player Ilie Năstase, the first leader of the ATP standings and the Steaua football club, which in 1989 won the European Champions Cup.

In news from volleyball, in Golden League Group B, after the first two fixtures, the womens teams of Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia each have one win and one defeat, putting them on an equal footing. Romania lost at home to Slovakia, then defeated the Czech Republic away from home. On Thursday, Romania is playing the Czech Republic at home. In the mens competition, in Group A, Romania is fourth-paced with 1 win away from home against last years vice-champions, Turkey, and two defeats, to Portugal and Denmark. Romania will play the next three fixtures at home, against Turkey in Brașov on Saturday, then against Denmark next Wednesday, and on June 18 against Portugal.

Next week Romania is hosting the Under-20 World Polo Championships in Otopeni, near Bucharest. Teams from 20 countries are taking part in the competition. Romania was drawn in Group E alongside New Zelanad and Peru. Alexandru Matei, the chairman of the Romanian Polo Federation, believes Romania can rank among the competitions top 8 teams. According to World Aquatics representative Gabor Karpati, we can expect the newly built swimming complex in Otopeni to even host a seniors event in the future. (VP)

The Steaua Bucharest Army Sports Club (CSA) on Wednesday celebrated 76 years of existence. Over the years, Steaua brought Romania 31 gold Olympic medals and 705 gold medals in world competitions. The clubs all-time top performers include Iosif Sârbu, Romanias first Olympic medalist in 1952 in Helsinki, athlete Iolanda Balaș, two-time Olympic champion in the high jump event, holding 5 Olympic records and 14 world records throughout her career, tennis player Ilie Năstase, the first leader of the ATP standings and the Steaua football club, which in 1989 won the European Champions Cup.

In news from volleyball, in Golden League Group B, after the first two fixtures, the womens teams of Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia each have one win and one defeat, putting them on an equal footing. Romania lost at home to Slovakia, then defeated the Czech Republic away from home. On Thursday, Romania is playing the Czech Republic at home. In the mens competition, in Group A, Romania is fourth-paced with 1 win away from home against last years vice-champions, Turkey, and two defeats, to Portugal and Denmark. Romania will play the next three fixtures at home, against Turkey in Brașov on Saturday, then against Denmark next Wednesday, and on June 18 against Portugal.

Next week Romania is hosting the Under-20 World Polo Championships in Otopeni, near Bucharest. Teams from 20 countries are taking part in the competition. Romania was drawn in Group E alongside New Zelanad and Peru. Alexandru Matei, the chairman of the Romanian Polo Federation, believes Romania can rank among the competitions top 8 teams. According to World Aquatics representative Gabor Karpati, we can expect the newly built swimming complex in Otopeni to even host a seniors event in the future. (VP)

The Romanian men’s basketball team U-BT Cluj-Napoca on
Wednesday won 87-83 against Bursaspor of Turkey at home in a match counting
towards EuroCup Group A. The Romanian champions have thus grabbed their fifth
win in the competition and hold mathematical chances of advancing to the round
of 16. The top scorers for U-BT were Jalen Jones of the US with 14 points and 8
rebounds, Leonardo Meindl of Brazil with 13 points and 8 rebounds and 4
assists, as well as American-born Romanian player Patrick Richard, with 14
points. In the next round, U-BT will take on Joventut Badalona of Spain on
March 14. U-BT is ranked 9th in the group tables. The top eight teams
will advance to the next phase.

We move on to news from handball. Romania’s men’s team on
Wednesday lost 28-26 to the Faeroe Islands away from home in a match counting
towards the 2024 European Championship preliminary Group 4. Romania was behind
most of the game, putting on a poor display of handball. The hosts had a 6-goal
advantage at half time – 15-9. In the second half, Romania upped its game, but
the Faeroe Islands eventually won the match. Romania is ranked 2nd
in the group standings after Austria, although ahead of Ukraine and the Faeroe
Islands. In the next round this Saturday, Romania will play the Faeroe Islands
again, this time in Bucharest. The top
two teams in each of the eight groups will advance directly to the final
tournament, along with the four best third-placed teams in all the groups. The
men’s European Championship will take place over January 10-28, 2024 in
Germany.

We go out with news from tennis. Romanian player Irina Begu
lost to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 7-6, 7-1 on Wednesday in the first
round at Indian Wells, a tournament offering 8.8 million USD this year in prize
money. Ranked 38 in the women’s singles, Begu thus sustained her fourth
consecutive defeat. In the Indian Wells doubles, Monica Niculescu paired up
with Alicja Rosolska of Poland, while Gabriela Ruse will play alongside Marta
Kostyuk of Ukraine. (VP)

The Romanian men’s basketball team U-BT Cluj-Napoca on
Wednesday won 87-83 against Bursaspor of Turkey at home in a match counting
towards EuroCup Group A. The Romanian champions have thus grabbed their fifth
win in the competition and hold mathematical chances of advancing to the round
of 16. The top scorers for U-BT were Jalen Jones of the US with 14 points and 8
rebounds, Leonardo Meindl of Brazil with 13 points and 8 rebounds and 4
assists, as well as American-born Romanian player Patrick Richard, with 14
points. In the next round, U-BT will take on Joventut Badalona of Spain on
March 14. U-BT is ranked 9th in the group tables. The top eight teams
will advance to the next phase.

We move on to news from handball. Romania’s men’s team on
Wednesday lost 28-26 to the Faeroe Islands away from home in a match counting
towards the 2024 European Championship preliminary Group 4. Romania was behind
most of the game, putting on a poor display of handball. The hosts had a 6-goal
advantage at half time – 15-9. In the second half, Romania upped its game, but
the Faeroe Islands eventually won the match. Romania is ranked 2nd
in the group standings after Austria, although ahead of Ukraine and the Faeroe
Islands. In the next round this Saturday, Romania will play the Faeroe Islands
again, this time in Bucharest. The top
two teams in each of the eight groups will advance directly to the final
tournament, along with the four best third-placed teams in all the groups. The
men’s European Championship will take place over January 10-28, 2024 in
Germany.

We go out with news from tennis. Romanian player Irina Begu
lost to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 7-6, 7-1 on Wednesday in the first
round at Indian Wells, a tournament offering 8.8 million USD this year in prize
money. Ranked 38 in the women’s singles, Begu thus sustained her fourth
consecutive defeat. In the Indian Wells doubles, Monica Niculescu paired up
with Alicja Rosolska of Poland, while Gabriela Ruse will play alongside Marta
Kostyuk of Ukraine. (VP)

The Romanian mens handball club Dinamo Bucharest on Wednesday lost 33-30 to Veszprem Telekom of Hungary away from home in Champions League Group A. The Romanian team had a better first half, at times securing a four-goal lead. The score was 17-15 at half time. In the second half, Veszprem made a spectacular comeback, taking the lead and putting five goals between them and Dinamo. At the end of the game, Veszprem won with a three-goal lead. The top scorers for Dinamo were Stanislav Kasparek of the Czech Republic and Andry Akimenko of Ukraine with seven goals each. Dinamo is ranked 7th in the group tables with one point and will next play FC Porto at home on October 5.

Following the draw for the World Table Tennis Championships to be hosted by Chengdu, China, Romania was drawn in Group 6 alongside Taiwan, Sweden and Portugal. The championships start on Friday. Romanias womens team includes Elizabeta Samara, Bernadette Szőcs, Adina Diaconu, Andreea Dragoman and Irina Ciobanu. The team is coached by Viorel Filimon and Mihaela Şteff. The mens team was drawn in Group 3 alongside Japan, Hong Kong, Iran and Hungary. The mens team includes Ovidiu Ionescu, Hunor Szőcs and Eduard Ionescu and is coached by Andrei Filimon and Ionuț Seni.

Romanias national rugby team will play three friendly matches in November, all scheduled to take place on the Triumphal Arch stadium in Bucharest, the National Rugby Federation has announced. On November 5, Romania will play Chile, then on November 12 it will go up against Uruguay, while the last friendly match is slated for November 19 against Samoa. Of all the Oaks adversaries, Samoa is the best-ranked team in world standings, namely 11th. Uruguay is ranked 18th while Chile 21st. Romania is ranked 17th. (VP)

The Romanian mens handball club Dinamo Bucharest on Wednesday lost 33-30 to Veszprem Telekom of Hungary away from home in Champions League Group A. The Romanian team had a better first half, at times securing a four-goal lead. The score was 17-15 at half time. In the second half, Veszprem made a spectacular comeback, taking the lead and putting five goals between them and Dinamo. At the end of the game, Veszprem won with a three-goal lead. The top scorers for Dinamo were Stanislav Kasparek of the Czech Republic and Andry Akimenko of Ukraine with seven goals each. Dinamo is ranked 7th in the group tables with one point and will next play FC Porto at home on October 5.

Following the draw for the World Table Tennis Championships to be hosted by Chengdu, China, Romania was drawn in Group 6 alongside Taiwan, Sweden and Portugal. The championships start on Friday. Romanias womens team includes Elizabeta Samara, Bernadette Szőcs, Adina Diaconu, Andreea Dragoman and Irina Ciobanu. The team is coached by Viorel Filimon and Mihaela Şteff. The mens team was drawn in Group 3 alongside Japan, Hong Kong, Iran and Hungary. The mens team includes Ovidiu Ionescu, Hunor Szőcs and Eduard Ionescu and is coached by Andrei Filimon and Ionuț Seni.

Romanias national rugby team will play three friendly matches in November, all scheduled to take place on the Triumphal Arch stadium in Bucharest, the National Rugby Federation has announced. On November 5, Romania will play Chile, then on November 12 it will go up against Uruguay, while the last friendly match is slated for November 19 against Samoa. Of all the Oaks adversaries, Samoa is the best-ranked team in world standings, namely 11th. Uruguay is ranked 18th while Chile 21st. Romania is ranked 17th. (VP)

The Romanian womens handball club CSM Bucharest has won the first trophy of the 2022-2023 season. The team coached by Adrian Vasile won the Romanian Supercup 28-26 in a match against Bucharest rivals Rapid. The top scorers for CSM were Malin Aune of Norway with 7 goals and Cristina Neagu with 6 goals. The top scorer for Rapid was Orlane Kanor of France with 6 goals. The defending Romanian Cup winners, CSM has thus won its fourth Supercup, after the trophies won in 2016, 2017 and 2019. CSM has played another eight finals.

In mens handball, let us note that European League matches are scheduled for this weekend in the first preliminary round. On Saturday, Minaur Baia Mare will play Ferencváros Budapest at home. In the same phase of the competition, Dobrogea Sud Constanța will take on Chambery of France.

Next week, Romanias best-performing athlete right now, swimmer David Popovici, will compete alongside eight other Romanian swimmers in the World Junior Swimming Championships hosted by Lima, Peru over August 30 – September 4. Popovici will compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, where he is the defending world and European champion in senior competitions. The last medal Romania won at the World Junior Championships was grabbed in 2017 in the USA by Daniel Martin, who won bronze in the 100m backstroke event. The last gold medal won in world junior championships was won by Robert Glință in 2015 in Singapore, also in the 100m backstroke race.

Romanian footballer George Pușcas will play for Genoa in the Italian second league starting next season. Pușcaș will play alongside another Romanian player, defender Radu Drăgușin. Genoa has reached an agreement with the English club Reading for signing Pușcaș for a 3-million-EUR fee. Pușcaș will be sent on loan to Serie B for one season, then the transfer will be completed. Pușcaș will sign a one-year contract with an extention option for another three years, Agerpres writes. Pușcaș has previously played in Italy for Bari, Benevento, Novara, Palermo and Pisa . (VP)

The Romanian womens handball club CSM Bucharest has won the first trophy of the 2022-2023 season. The team coached by Adrian Vasile won the Romanian Supercup 28-26 in a match against Bucharest rivals Rapid. The top scorers for CSM were Malin Aune of Norway with 7 goals and Cristina Neagu with 6 goals. The top scorer for Rapid was Orlane Kanor of France with 6 goals. The defending Romanian Cup winners, CSM has thus won its fourth Supercup, after the trophies won in 2016, 2017 and 2019. CSM has played another eight finals.

In mens handball, let us note that European League matches are scheduled for this weekend in the first preliminary round. On Saturday, Minaur Baia Mare will play Ferencváros Budapest at home. In the same phase of the competition, Dobrogea Sud Constanța will take on Chambery of France.

Next week, Romanias best-performing athlete right now, swimmer David Popovici, will compete alongside eight other Romanian swimmers in the World Junior Swimming Championships hosted by Lima, Peru over August 30 – September 4. Popovici will compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, where he is the defending world and European champion in senior competitions. The last medal Romania won at the World Junior Championships was grabbed in 2017 in the USA by Daniel Martin, who won bronze in the 100m backstroke event. The last gold medal won in world junior championships was won by Robert Glință in 2015 in Singapore, also in the 100m backstroke race.

Romanian footballer George Pușcas will play for Genoa in the Italian second league starting next season. Pușcaș will play alongside another Romanian player, defender Radu Drăgușin. Genoa has reached an agreement with the English club Reading for signing Pușcaș for a 3-million-EUR fee. Pușcaș will be sent on loan to Serie B for one season, then the transfer will be completed. Pușcaș will sign a one-year contract with an extention option for another three years, Agerpres writes. Pușcaș has previously played in Italy for Bari, Benevento, Novara, Palermo and Pisa . (VP)

Romanian
football has reported a new all-time low record, this time in Champions League.
For the first time in history, the Romanian champion was knocked out in the
first preliminary round. On Wednesday, CFR Cluj lost 3-4 the match played on home
turf against the Armenian champions, Piunik Yerevan. The match was played on
home turf and the final score was set after extra time and the penalty
shootout. The score in the first leg had been 0-0.

The match
had a cliffhanging ending. Bismark Adjei-Boateng of Ghana had scored the first
goal for CFR on minute 6. Then, for the next 80 minutes, the team from Cluj
dominated the game, missing a few good scoring opportunities, all denied by
Armenian goalkeeper David Yurchenko, perhaps the best player on the field on
Wednesday. On Minute 89, Piunik evened the odds with a goal scored by Zoran Gajić
of Serbia. At 1-1 the match was pushed into extra time. CFR scored again on
minute 94, but Piunik was awarded a penalty kick on minute 107, when Andrei
Burcă performed an illegal tackle on David Davidian in the penalty area.
Hovhanes Harutiunian executed the penalty kick, but it was saved by Cristian Bălgrădean.
On minute 119, however, Zoran Gajić made it 2-2, and the match now moved to the
penalty shootout. CFR missed two penalty kicks, Piunik scored every penalty
kick and won 4-3.

Failure to
qualify to the Champions League second preliminary round also deals a heavy
financial blow to CFR Cluj. The top inter-club competition offers the highest
prizes, worth millions of EUR, to teams that qualify to superior stages. Last
year, for instance, after defeating Borac Banja Luka of Bosnia and qualifying
to the second round, CFR was awarded 660 thousand EUR. Had it qualified to the
group phase, the Romanian champions would have won over 15 million EUR.

Following
Wednesday’s result, Piunik Yerevan will now play F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg in
the second preliminary round of Champions League. CFR Cluj will play in the
second preliminary round of Conference League, taking on Inter Club d’Escaldes
of Andorra. The first leg will be played on July 21 on home turf and the return
leg on July 28 away from home. (VP)

Romanian
football has reported a new all-time low record, this time in Champions League.
For the first time in history, the Romanian champion was knocked out in the
first preliminary round. On Wednesday, CFR Cluj lost 3-4 the match played on home
turf against the Armenian champions, Piunik Yerevan. The match was played on
home turf and the final score was set after extra time and the penalty
shootout. The score in the first leg had been 0-0.

The match
had a cliffhanging ending. Bismark Adjei-Boateng of Ghana had scored the first
goal for CFR on minute 6. Then, for the next 80 minutes, the team from Cluj
dominated the game, missing a few good scoring opportunities, all denied by
Armenian goalkeeper David Yurchenko, perhaps the best player on the field on
Wednesday. On Minute 89, Piunik evened the odds with a goal scored by Zoran Gajić
of Serbia. At 1-1 the match was pushed into extra time. CFR scored again on
minute 94, but Piunik was awarded a penalty kick on minute 107, when Andrei
Burcă performed an illegal tackle on David Davidian in the penalty area.
Hovhanes Harutiunian executed the penalty kick, but it was saved by Cristian Bălgrădean.
On minute 119, however, Zoran Gajić made it 2-2, and the match now moved to the
penalty shootout. CFR missed two penalty kicks, Piunik scored every penalty
kick and won 4-3.

Failure to
qualify to the Champions League second preliminary round also deals a heavy
financial blow to CFR Cluj. The top inter-club competition offers the highest
prizes, worth millions of EUR, to teams that qualify to superior stages. Last
year, for instance, after defeating Borac Banja Luka of Bosnia and qualifying
to the second round, CFR was awarded 660 thousand EUR. Had it qualified to the
group phase, the Romanian champions would have won over 15 million EUR.

Following
Wednesday’s result, Piunik Yerevan will now play F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg in
the second preliminary round of Champions League. CFR Cluj will play in the
second preliminary round of Conference League, taking on Inter Club d’Escaldes
of Andorra. The first leg will be played on July 21 on home turf and the return
leg on July 28 away from home. (VP)