Tag: Sports Weekend

On Thursday Romania’s
under-21 football team defeated Finland 4-1 in Group 8 of the European
Championship preliminaries. Romania has thus climbed in top position in the
ground tables with 9 points in four matches.

The Romanian
national football team on Friday is playing Sweden in the 2020 European
Championship preliminaries. Romania ranks 3rd in Group F with 14
points, and needs a win to keep its chances of qualifying alive. Coach Cosmin
Contra has called up 24 players to the national squad, 9 of whom are playing in
the Romanian domestic championship, while the other 15 are playing in different
leagues abroad. Some have been surprised with Contra’s decision to leave out
Genoa’s goalkeeper Ionut Radu or Galatasaray Istanbul’s forward Florin Andone.
Instead Cosmin Contra has called up midfielder Constantin Budescu and forward
Denis Alibec, both playing for Astra Giurgiu.

At the ATP
finals hosted by London, in the men’s doubles Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer
of the Netherlands are playing Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the
Max Mirnyi group. In the second match, Tecau and Rojer defeated the no. 1 pair
in the standings, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, but lost their first
match to the all-German pair Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.

In women’s
handball, Romania’s representatives in Champions League are playing new matches
this weekend. Romanian champions SCM Ramnicu Valcea will play Brest Bretagne of
France in Group C at home, while vice-champions CSM Bucharest will go up
against Rostov Don of Russia away from home in Group B. In the EHF Cup, the second leg of
the third round will be played this weekend. CS Magura Cisnadie will take on
visiting side Rocasa Gran Canaria of Spain. In the first leg the Spanish team had
won 28-24. Corona Brasov will play Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud at home. In the first
leg, the team from Brasov had won 27-25.

Finally, in men’s
handball, Potaissa Turda will play Dobeles Tenax of Latvia in the first leg of
the Challenge Cup round of 32.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

On Thursday Romania’s
under-21 football team defeated Finland 4-1 in Group 8 of the European
Championship preliminaries. Romania has thus climbed in top position in the
ground tables with 9 points in four matches.

The Romanian
national football team on Friday is playing Sweden in the 2020 European
Championship preliminaries. Romania ranks 3rd in Group F with 14
points, and needs a win to keep its chances of qualifying alive. Coach Cosmin
Contra has called up 24 players to the national squad, 9 of whom are playing in
the Romanian domestic championship, while the other 15 are playing in different
leagues abroad. Some have been surprised with Contra’s decision to leave out
Genoa’s goalkeeper Ionut Radu or Galatasaray Istanbul’s forward Florin Andone.
Instead Cosmin Contra has called up midfielder Constantin Budescu and forward
Denis Alibec, both playing for Astra Giurgiu.

At the ATP
finals hosted by London, in the men’s doubles Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer
of the Netherlands are playing Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the
Max Mirnyi group. In the second match, Tecau and Rojer defeated the no. 1 pair
in the standings, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, but lost their first
match to the all-German pair Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.

In women’s
handball, Romania’s representatives in Champions League are playing new matches
this weekend. Romanian champions SCM Ramnicu Valcea will play Brest Bretagne of
France in Group C at home, while vice-champions CSM Bucharest will go up
against Rostov Don of Russia away from home in Group B. In the EHF Cup, the second leg of
the third round will be played this weekend. CS Magura Cisnadie will take on
visiting side Rocasa Gran Canaria of Spain. In the first leg the Spanish team had
won 28-24. Corona Brasov will play Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud at home. In the first
leg, the team from Brasov had won 27-25.

Finally, in men’s
handball, Potaissa Turda will play Dobeles Tenax of Latvia in the first leg of
the Challenge Cup round of 32.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

31 athletes will represent Romania at
the European Weightlifting Championships for juniors and cadets due to kick off
in Bucharest this weekend. In the under-20 competition, Romania’s delegation
comprises 12 girls and 11 boys. In the under-23 competition, a total of 8
weightlifters have enrolled, 4 in the women’s competition and 4 in the men’s
competition. Romania’s set objective for this edition is winning at least 5
medals, considering the championship could secure qualification to the Olympic
Games in Tokyo next year. The event will close on October 27. In last year’s
edition of the European Championship, hosted by Zamosc in Poland, Romanian
weightlifters won 20 medals, 8 gold, 4 silver and 8 bronze.

The final round of the National Rally
Championship, TESS Rally, will be held on Friday and Saturday. A total of 8
special races will be held, all in Brasov County, over a total distance of 119
kilometers. Ahead of this round, ranking first in the tables is Valentin
Porcisteanu, racing on a C3 R5 Citroen, with 203 points, followed by Simone
Tempestini, racing on a i20 Hyundai, with 201 points, and Dan Girtofan, driving
a Skoda Fabia R5, with 176 points.

This weekend will also see matches
counting towards the 13th round of the domestic championship. On
Friday, FC Hermannstadt will play FC Voluntari, while Dinamo Bucharest will
take on Gaz Metan Medias. On Saturday, in the round’s highlight match, CFR Cluj
will play Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, Academica Clinceni will go up
against Viitorul Constanta. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe will play Astra Giurgiu,
while Chindia Targoviste will go up against FCSB. On Monday, in the last match
of the round, Poli Iasi will play FC Botosani. CFR Cluj and Viitorul Constanta
top the league tables, each with 24 points, although CFR has a better
goal-average. Universitatea Craiova is in third place.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

31 athletes will represent Romania at
the European Weightlifting Championships for juniors and cadets due to kick off
in Bucharest this weekend. In the under-20 competition, Romania’s delegation
comprises 12 girls and 11 boys. In the under-23 competition, a total of 8
weightlifters have enrolled, 4 in the women’s competition and 4 in the men’s
competition. Romania’s set objective for this edition is winning at least 5
medals, considering the championship could secure qualification to the Olympic
Games in Tokyo next year. The event will close on October 27. In last year’s
edition of the European Championship, hosted by Zamosc in Poland, Romanian
weightlifters won 20 medals, 8 gold, 4 silver and 8 bronze.

The final round of the National Rally
Championship, TESS Rally, will be held on Friday and Saturday. A total of 8
special races will be held, all in Brasov County, over a total distance of 119
kilometers. Ahead of this round, ranking first in the tables is Valentin
Porcisteanu, racing on a C3 R5 Citroen, with 203 points, followed by Simone
Tempestini, racing on a i20 Hyundai, with 201 points, and Dan Girtofan, driving
a Skoda Fabia R5, with 176 points.

This weekend will also see matches
counting towards the 13th round of the domestic championship. On
Friday, FC Hermannstadt will play FC Voluntari, while Dinamo Bucharest will
take on Gaz Metan Medias. On Saturday, in the round’s highlight match, CFR Cluj
will play Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, Academica Clinceni will go up
against Viitorul Constanta. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe will play Astra Giurgiu,
while Chindia Targoviste will go up against FCSB. On Monday, in the last match
of the round, Poli Iasi will play FC Botosani. CFR Cluj and Viitorul Constanta
top the league tables, each with 24 points, although CFR has a better
goal-average. Universitatea Craiova is in third place.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

Romanian football champions CFR
Cluj on Thursday became the leader of Europa League’s Group E after winning in
the first round 2-1 against Lazio Rome on home turf. Lazio had a better first
half, Bastos scoring the first goal. CFR made it even towards the end of the
first half, Ciprian Deac scoring from penalty kick. The second half was
dominated tactically by Dan Petrescu’s trainees. Sending Bilel Omrani onto the
pitch made the difference for Cluj. After two important scoring opportunities,
Omrani eventually scored the winning goal on minute 75.

This was the second win for CFR
Cluj against an Italian team in European inter-club competitions. In 2008, CFR
defeated AS Rome 1-nil away from home in Champions League.

Also on Thursday, in the other
Group E fixture, Rennes of France drew 1-all against Scotland’s Celtic Glasgow.
Therefore CFR tops the group tables with 3 points. In the next group fixture,
scheduled for October 3, Lazio will play Rennes while CFR will travel to
Glasgow to take on Celtic. Prior to that, this Sunday CFR will play Romania’s
vice-champions FCSB on National Arena stadium in Bucharest.

Let us also note the other matches
counting towards the 10th round of the Romanian First League.

On Friday, Gaz Metan Medias is
playing Universitatea Craiova.

On Saturday, FC Voluntari will take
on Academica Clinceni, while Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe will go up against FC
Hermannstadt on home turf. Finally, Astra Giurgiu will play Dinamo Bucharest.

On Sunday, FC Botosani will play
Chindia Targoviste, while on Monday Viitorul Constanta will take on Politehnica
Iasi.

Romanian football champions CFR
Cluj on Thursday became the leader of Europa League’s Group E after winning in
the first round 2-1 against Lazio Rome on home turf. Lazio had a better first
half, Bastos scoring the first goal. CFR made it even towards the end of the
first half, Ciprian Deac scoring from penalty kick. The second half was
dominated tactically by Dan Petrescu’s trainees. Sending Bilel Omrani onto the
pitch made the difference for Cluj. After two important scoring opportunities,
Omrani eventually scored the winning goal on minute 75.

This was the second win for CFR
Cluj against an Italian team in European inter-club competitions. In 2008, CFR
defeated AS Rome 1-nil away from home in Champions League.

Also on Thursday, in the other
Group E fixture, Rennes of France drew 1-all against Scotland’s Celtic Glasgow.
Therefore CFR tops the group tables with 3 points. In the next group fixture,
scheduled for October 3, Lazio will play Rennes while CFR will travel to
Glasgow to take on Celtic. Prior to that, this Sunday CFR will play Romania’s
vice-champions FCSB on National Arena stadium in Bucharest.

Let us also note the other matches
counting towards the 10th round of the Romanian First League.

On Friday, Gaz Metan Medias is
playing Universitatea Craiova.

On Saturday, FC Voluntari will take
on Academica Clinceni, while Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe will go up against FC
Hermannstadt on home turf. Finally, Astra Giurgiu will play Dinamo Bucharest.

On Sunday, FC Botosani will play
Chindia Targoviste, while on Monday Viitorul Constanta will take on Politehnica
Iasi.

This weekend the 30th
edition of the Summer Universiade continues in Naples, Italy. A total of 12,000
athletes from all over the world are competing in 18 events. Representing
Romania are 86 athletes in 10 events: athletics, women’s basketball,
gymnastics, rugby, swimming, judo, shooting sport, fencing, table tennis and
taekowondo. The opening ceremony was held on Wednesday, July 3, on San Paolo
Stadium in Naples. The ending ceremony will be held on Sunday, July 14.

This weekend Sibiu plays host to a
bike race enrolling 114 bikers from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy,
Latvia, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, the United States,
Hungary and Romania. A total of 19 teams will start the race, including the
national teams of Romania and Ukraine. A team time trial was held on July 3,
over a 2.5-km track crossing Sibiu’s old city center. On Thursday the first
stage was held, totaling 191,8 km. Justin Paroz of Switzerland won the first
stage. Over the next five days of the circuit the bikers will cover a total of
690 km.

The highlight event his weekend in
Romania is the Football Supercup. The match will be hosted by Ploiesti,
southern Romania, and will pit Romanian champions CFR Cluj against Romanian Cup
winners Viitorul Constanta. CFR Cluj has won the trophy three times, in 2009,
2010 and 2018, while Viitorul is yet to win its first trophy. Last week CFR
Cluj completed its training stage in Austria with a 1-nil win over Sparta
Prague of the Czech Republic. Previously, CFR won 1-nil against Russia’s FC
Orenburg, drew 1-all against Red Star Belgrade of Serbia, won 2-1 against NK
Osijek of Croatia and 1-nil against Mlada Boleslav of the Czech Republic. In
turn, FC Viitorul defeated 2-1 Cherno More Varna of Bulgaria on Wednesday. Also
this summer Viitorul played several friendly matches, losing 2-3 to Olympiacos
Piraeus, winning 8-nil against Coltea Brasov, 3-1 against Chindia Targoviste,
2-nil against FK Csikszereda Miercurea Ciuc and drawing 3-all against FCSB.
Next week CFR Cluj starts its Champions League qualifying campaign with a match
against FC Astana of Kazakhstan, counting towards the first preliminary round.
The return leg will be played in Cluj on July 17.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

This weekend the 30th
edition of the Summer Universiade continues in Naples, Italy. A total of 12,000
athletes from all over the world are competing in 18 events. Representing
Romania are 86 athletes in 10 events: athletics, women’s basketball,
gymnastics, rugby, swimming, judo, shooting sport, fencing, table tennis and
taekowondo. The opening ceremony was held on Wednesday, July 3, on San Paolo
Stadium in Naples. The ending ceremony will be held on Sunday, July 14.

This weekend Sibiu plays host to a
bike race enrolling 114 bikers from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy,
Latvia, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, the United States,
Hungary and Romania. A total of 19 teams will start the race, including the
national teams of Romania and Ukraine. A team time trial was held on July 3,
over a 2.5-km track crossing Sibiu’s old city center. On Thursday the first
stage was held, totaling 191,8 km. Justin Paroz of Switzerland won the first
stage. Over the next five days of the circuit the bikers will cover a total of
690 km.

The highlight event his weekend in
Romania is the Football Supercup. The match will be hosted by Ploiesti,
southern Romania, and will pit Romanian champions CFR Cluj against Romanian Cup
winners Viitorul Constanta. CFR Cluj has won the trophy three times, in 2009,
2010 and 2018, while Viitorul is yet to win its first trophy. Last week CFR
Cluj completed its training stage in Austria with a 1-nil win over Sparta
Prague of the Czech Republic. Previously, CFR won 1-nil against Russia’s FC
Orenburg, drew 1-all against Red Star Belgrade of Serbia, won 2-1 against NK
Osijek of Croatia and 1-nil against Mlada Boleslav of the Czech Republic. In
turn, FC Viitorul defeated 2-1 Cherno More Varna of Bulgaria on Wednesday. Also
this summer Viitorul played several friendly matches, losing 2-3 to Olympiacos
Piraeus, winning 8-nil against Coltea Brasov, 3-1 against Chindia Targoviste,
2-nil against FK Csikszereda Miercurea Ciuc and drawing 3-all against FCSB.
Next week CFR Cluj starts its Champions League qualifying campaign with a match
against FC Astana of Kazakhstan, counting towards the first preliminary round.
The return leg will be played in Cluj on July 17.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

The World Ice
Hockey Championship is underway in Tallinn, Estonia. After the first four games
in the third-tier league, Romania ranks 1st with 10 points, followed
by Poland with 10 points, although with one game lost to Romania after extra
time. On Thursday, Romania defeated Ukraine 5-1. To accede to the second-tier
league, Romania needs a win against the Netherlands in the last game scheduled
for Saturday.

This weekend
will see the kick-off the Mutua Madrid Open, the first major tennis tournament
played on clay court this year. In the women’s singles, Romania will be
represented by Simona Halep, Mihaela Buzarnescu, Irina Begu and Sorana Cirstea.
Begu and Cirstea received wildcards to take part in the tournament from the
tournament sponsor, former tennis player Ion Tiriac.

Matches counting
towards the 8th round of the football championship’s group stage
will be played from Friday through Monday. On Friday, in Group 2, Concordia
Chiajna will play FC Botosani while Gaz Metan Medias will take on FC
Hermannstadt. On Saturday, in
Group 2, Dinamo Bucharest will travel to Calarasi to play the local side,
Dunarea, while on Sunday FC Voluntari will go up against Poli Iasi. In Group 1,
on Saturday, FC Viitorul will play Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. On Sunday,
Universitatea Craiova will take on FCSB on home turf. On Monday, Astra Giurgiu
will play CFR Cluj. CFR tops the league standings with 44 points, followed by
FCSB with 39 points and Universitatea Craiova with 36 points.

The World Ice
Hockey Championship is underway in Tallinn, Estonia. After the first four games
in the third-tier league, Romania ranks 1st with 10 points, followed
by Poland with 10 points, although with one game lost to Romania after extra
time. On Thursday, Romania defeated Ukraine 5-1. To accede to the second-tier
league, Romania needs a win against the Netherlands in the last game scheduled
for Saturday.

This weekend
will see the kick-off the Mutua Madrid Open, the first major tennis tournament
played on clay court this year. In the women’s singles, Romania will be
represented by Simona Halep, Mihaela Buzarnescu, Irina Begu and Sorana Cirstea.
Begu and Cirstea received wildcards to take part in the tournament from the
tournament sponsor, former tennis player Ion Tiriac.

Matches counting
towards the 8th round of the football championship’s group stage
will be played from Friday through Monday. On Friday, in Group 2, Concordia
Chiajna will play FC Botosani while Gaz Metan Medias will take on FC
Hermannstadt. On Saturday, in
Group 2, Dinamo Bucharest will travel to Calarasi to play the local side,
Dunarea, while on Sunday FC Voluntari will go up against Poli Iasi. In Group 1,
on Saturday, FC Viitorul will play Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. On Sunday,
Universitatea Craiova will take on FCSB on home turf. On Monday, Astra Giurgiu
will play CFR Cluj. CFR tops the league standings with 44 points, followed by
FCSB with 39 points and Universitatea Craiova with 36 points.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has been edged out of
the tournament in Dubai. Halep sustained a three-set defeat by Swiss challenger
Belinda Bencic. In the first set, Bencic had a 2-nil lead, but Halep braced up
and won the set, 6-4. In the second set, Bencic won a break, but Halep was
quick to level up. The match was a balanced one as the score turned 4-all, yet
Bencic came back and won, 6-4. In the third set, Halep went three games down,
then came from behind and won two games in a row, but Bencic was unstoppable
and won the decisive set, 6-2. Also in Dubai, in the quarterfinals of the
women’s doubles, Raluca Olaru and Croatia’s Darija Jurak sustained a 4-6, 5-7
defeat by the all-Taiwanese pair made of Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan.

We carry on with news from handball. Romanian national
squad’s and CSM Bucharest’s left back handballer Cristina Neagu has received a nomination
for the world’s best handballer title in 2018, by the International Handball Federation.
In 2018, Neagu was the best scorer in the history of the European
Championships, with a record of 237 goals scored. However, a serious left-knee
injury prevented Neagu from being on the pitch in Romania’s last two fixtures
at the EURO 2018. We recall that Cristina Neagu was designated the world’s best
handballer in 2010, 2015 and 2016.

The Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest on Saturday
faces Hungarian opponents Győr
at home, in a fixture counting towards the Champions League’s main Group 2. In
the as-it-stands table, CSM are 2nd-placed in the group with 10
points, while Gyor has the lead, with 13 points. We recall that in January in
Gyor, the Hungarian side had no problem securing a 36-27 win against CSM
Bucharest.

We go out with news from football, as this coming weekend
sees matches being played, counting towards the domestic championship’s 25th
round, actually the last-but-one round of the main season. On Friday, Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe takes on Viitorul Constanta. On Saturday, Astra Giurgiu
receives the visit of FC Hermannstadt from Sibiu, while Poli Iasi faces CFR
Cluj, on home soil. On Sunday, in the southern Romanian town of Calarasi, the
local side Dunarea plays Dinamo Bucharest, then on home turf, FC Botosani are
pitted against Gaz Metan Medias. The derby of the 25th round sees
FCSB facing Universitatea Craiova on National Arena stadium in Bucharest. In
the last game of round 25, Concordia Chiajna faces FC Voluntari. CFR Cluj have
the lead in the table, with 48 points. Then with 45 points, Craiova and FCSB
are second and third-placed, respectively.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has been edged out of
the tournament in Dubai. Halep sustained a three-set defeat by Swiss challenger
Belinda Bencic. In the first set, Bencic had a 2-nil lead, but Halep braced up
and won the set, 6-4. In the second set, Bencic won a break, but Halep was
quick to level up. The match was a balanced one as the score turned 4-all, yet
Bencic came back and won, 6-4. In the third set, Halep went three games down,
then came from behind and won two games in a row, but Bencic was unstoppable
and won the decisive set, 6-2. Also in Dubai, in the quarterfinals of the
women’s doubles, Raluca Olaru and Croatia’s Darija Jurak sustained a 4-6, 5-7
defeat by the all-Taiwanese pair made of Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan.

We carry on with news from handball. Romanian national
squad’s and CSM Bucharest’s left back handballer Cristina Neagu has received a nomination
for the world’s best handballer title in 2018, by the International Handball Federation.
In 2018, Neagu was the best scorer in the history of the European
Championships, with a record of 237 goals scored. However, a serious left-knee
injury prevented Neagu from being on the pitch in Romania’s last two fixtures
at the EURO 2018. We recall that Cristina Neagu was designated the world’s best
handballer in 2010, 2015 and 2016.

The Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest on Saturday
faces Hungarian opponents Győr
at home, in a fixture counting towards the Champions League’s main Group 2. In
the as-it-stands table, CSM are 2nd-placed in the group with 10
points, while Gyor has the lead, with 13 points. We recall that in January in
Gyor, the Hungarian side had no problem securing a 36-27 win against CSM
Bucharest.

We go out with news from football, as this coming weekend
sees matches being played, counting towards the domestic championship’s 25th
round, actually the last-but-one round of the main season. On Friday, Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe takes on Viitorul Constanta. On Saturday, Astra Giurgiu
receives the visit of FC Hermannstadt from Sibiu, while Poli Iasi faces CFR
Cluj, on home soil. On Sunday, in the southern Romanian town of Calarasi, the
local side Dunarea plays Dinamo Bucharest, then on home turf, FC Botosani are
pitted against Gaz Metan Medias. The derby of the 25th round sees
FCSB facing Universitatea Craiova on National Arena stadium in Bucharest. In
the last game of round 25, Concordia Chiajna faces FC Voluntari. CFR Cluj have
the lead in the table, with 48 points. Then with 45 points, Craiova and FCSB
are second and third-placed, respectively.

Sorin Babii, the
Olympic champion in the 50-meter pistol event in 1988 in Seoul, grabbed his
third consecutive term at the helm of the Romanian Shooting Sport Federation on
Thursday. Sorin Babii represented Romania in six editions of the Olympic Games.

We move on to
news from women’s basketball. The Romanian side Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe lost
53-73 to Enisei Krasnoiarsk of Russia on home turf in the first leg of the Euro
Cup Group D.

In news from
tennis, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer
was ousted from the tennis tournament in Basel, totaling some 1.9 million
dollars in prize money. Tecau and Rojer lost to Germany’s Alexander and Mischa
Zverev, 6-4, 6-4, after 67 minutes of play.

In the Erste Ice
Hockey League, Corona Brasov on Thursday lost 7-2 the away match played against
Fehervari Titanok, hosted by Szekesfehervar, Hungary.

Also in Hungary,
the World Wrestling Championships are underway in Budapest. On Thursday,
Ukrainian-born Romanian wrestler Katya Zhydachevska ranked 5th in
the 57-kg category. This is Romania’s best result in the world championships so
far, after another Romanian wrestler, George Bucur, ranked 5th in
the 65-kg freestyle event.

The World
Artistic Gymnastics Championships continue in Doha, Qatar. Saturday and Sunday
will see qualifications in women’s events, while the finals are scheduled for
next week. The first final on Monday is the men’s all-around event. On
Thursday, on day 1 in the men’s qualifications, Romanian athletes all failed
their routines in the pommel horse event. This comes as great disappointment,
given that Marius Urzica, Romania’s best-performing athlete in the pommel horse
event, is now coaching the men’s team. Urzica won the Olympic gold in this
event in 2000 in Sydney, silver in 1996 in Atlanta and silver in 2004 in
Athens.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

Sorin Babii, the
Olympic champion in the 50-meter pistol event in 1988 in Seoul, grabbed his
third consecutive term at the helm of the Romanian Shooting Sport Federation on
Thursday. Sorin Babii represented Romania in six editions of the Olympic Games.

We move on to
news from women’s basketball. The Romanian side Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe lost
53-73 to Enisei Krasnoiarsk of Russia on home turf in the first leg of the Euro
Cup Group D.

In news from
tennis, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer
was ousted from the tennis tournament in Basel, totaling some 1.9 million
dollars in prize money. Tecau and Rojer lost to Germany’s Alexander and Mischa
Zverev, 6-4, 6-4, after 67 minutes of play.

In the Erste Ice
Hockey League, Corona Brasov on Thursday lost 7-2 the away match played against
Fehervari Titanok, hosted by Szekesfehervar, Hungary.

Also in Hungary,
the World Wrestling Championships are underway in Budapest. On Thursday,
Ukrainian-born Romanian wrestler Katya Zhydachevska ranked 5th in
the 57-kg category. This is Romania’s best result in the world championships so
far, after another Romanian wrestler, George Bucur, ranked 5th in
the 65-kg freestyle event.

The World
Artistic Gymnastics Championships continue in Doha, Qatar. Saturday and Sunday
will see qualifications in women’s events, while the finals are scheduled for
next week. The first final on Monday is the men’s all-around event. On
Thursday, on day 1 in the men’s qualifications, Romanian athletes all failed
their routines in the pommel horse event. This comes as great disappointment,
given that Marius Urzica, Romania’s best-performing athlete in the pommel horse
event, is now coaching the men’s team. Urzica won the Olympic gold in this
event in 2000 in Sydney, silver in 1996 in Atlanta and silver in 2004 in
Athens.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

This week saw
matches counting towards the round of 32 in the Romanian Football Cup. The
games were played on the home turf of the lower-tier team. In the case of
matches played in the evening and televised live, where the home club lacked
the necessary floodlighting equipment, the organizers rented the nearest
stadium that has the equipment.

On Thursday, in
Zlatna, in front of a 3,000-strong crowd, the third-league team Unirea Alba
Iulia took on Romanian vice-champions, FCSB. The latter advanced with
difficulty, winning narrowly 1-nil, thanks to a late goal scored by Raul
Rusescu on minute 84. Gaz Metan Medias had an equally tough job at securing
qualification after facing third-league team Bucovina Radauti. The final score
was 8-7 for Medias after the penalty shootout. The hosts scored the first goal
on minute 83. Gaz Metan evened the odds in stoppage time with a goal scored by
Portuguese Yazalde. The score was 1-all after extra time, Gaz Metan eventually
winning the penalty shootout.

A total of
twelve teams from the First League have qualified to the round of 16: trophy
holders Universitatea Craiova, FC Voluntari, Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe, Dinamo
Bucharest, Politehnica Iasi, Dunarea Calarasi, FC Hermannstadt, Viitorul
Constanta, CFR Cluj, Astra Giurgiu, Gaz Metan Medias and FCSB. Adding to the
list are two teams from the second league, CS Mioveni and Universitatea Cluj,
and two third-league teams, Csikszereda Miercurea Ciuc and Turris – Oltul Turnu
Magurele.

In other news
from football, let’s look ahead at matches counting towards the 10th
round of the 2018-2019 regular season.

On Friday Dinamo Bucharest is
taking on Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. On Saturday, FC
Voluntari will play FC Botosani at home. On Sunday, Gaz Metan Medias will go up
against Poli Iasi, Viitorul Constanta will play Astra Giurgiu, while FC
Hermannstadt will take on FCSB. On Monday, Concordia Chiajna is playing Dunarea
Calarasi, while CFR Cluj is pitted against Universitatea Craiova.

FCSB tops the
league tables with 18 points, followed by Astra Giurgiu with 17 points.

(Translated by V. Palcu)