Radio România Internațional

Tag: sports

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    ACS Poli Timişoara and Dinamo Bucureşti are the finalists of the 2016 — 2017 Football League Cup. In the semifinals, Poli outclassed ASA Targu Mures, with a double-leg win in the tie, 4-2 and 3-1 respectively, with the return leg being played this past Tuesday in Timisoara. Poli’s Brazilian footballer Pedro Henrique scored on 17 and 27 minutes. The ball centered by Poli’s Croat player Josip Fucek enabled Enrique to provide the opener for the game, while the ball shot from the edge of the box touched the net for the second time. Poli Timisoara’s third goal came on 65 minutes, thanks to Gabriel Canu’s header which was made possible by Fucek’s free kick. Scoring for ASA Targu Mures was Andrei Sin, who on 48 minutes shot into the far post.



    The second semifinal was played on Wednesday, when 20,000 football fans had the opportunity to watch Romanian football’s all-time rivals, Steaua and Dinamo, pitted against each other on the National Arena in Bucharest. In the first leg Dinamo trounced Steaua, 4-1. Dinamo footballers were definitely better in the return leg as well, as Steaua’s manager Laurenţiu Reghecampf admitted. Dinamo first scored on 37 minutes, when Sergiu Hanca served Dan Nistor, taking advantage of a mistake made by Steaua’s goalie Florin Nita as he kicked the ball into play.



    Steaua scored the equalizer on 64 minutes when Denis Alibec was granted a penalty kick because of Steliano Filip’s foul on Florin Tanase. On 71 minutes Dinamo succeeded to take the lead for the second time around, as the ball centered by Spanish Jose Antonio Romera Navarro made possible the volley shot performed by Patrick Petre. The fate of the game was sealed on 82 minutes when Hanca turned into a goal the penalty kick granted to Dinamo because of Mihai Balasa’s foul on Patrick Petre.



    For the record, it was Dinamo Bucharest’s third win running in a fixture against Steaua, a team that as of late has failed to find their own pace of the pitch.

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    ACS Poli Timişoara and Dinamo Bucureşti are the finalists of the 2016 — 2017 Football League Cup. In the semifinals, Poli outclassed ASA Targu Mures, with a double-leg win in the tie, 4-2 and 3-1 respectively, with the return leg being played this past Tuesday in Timisoara. Poli’s Brazilian footballer Pedro Henrique scored on 17 and 27 minutes. The ball centered by Poli’s Croat player Josip Fucek enabled Enrique to provide the opener for the game, while the ball shot from the edge of the box touched the net for the second time. Poli Timisoara’s third goal came on 65 minutes, thanks to Gabriel Canu’s header which was made possible by Fucek’s free kick. Scoring for ASA Targu Mures was Andrei Sin, who on 48 minutes shot into the far post.



    The second semifinal was played on Wednesday, when 20,000 football fans had the opportunity to watch Romanian football’s all-time rivals, Steaua and Dinamo, pitted against each other on the National Arena in Bucharest. In the first leg Dinamo trounced Steaua, 4-1. Dinamo footballers were definitely better in the return leg as well, as Steaua’s manager Laurenţiu Reghecampf admitted. Dinamo first scored on 37 minutes, when Sergiu Hanca served Dan Nistor, taking advantage of a mistake made by Steaua’s goalie Florin Nita as he kicked the ball into play.



    Steaua scored the equalizer on 64 minutes when Denis Alibec was granted a penalty kick because of Steliano Filip’s foul on Florin Tanase. On 71 minutes Dinamo succeeded to take the lead for the second time around, as the ball centered by Spanish Jose Antonio Romera Navarro made possible the volley shot performed by Patrick Petre. The fate of the game was sealed on 82 minutes when Hanca turned into a goal the penalty kick granted to Dinamo because of Mihai Balasa’s foul on Patrick Petre.



    For the record, it was Dinamo Bucharest’s third win running in a fixture against Steaua, a team that as of late has failed to find their own pace of the pitch.

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne has cancelled the 3-point penalty with which Gaz Metan Medias has been sanctioned late last year by Romanian Football Federations Licensing Committee. The sanction was enforced for an allegedly pending debt to the Bulgarian club Cernomorets Burgas, yet Gaz Metan Medias has denied the existence of such a debt.


    Romanian national football team manager, the German Christoph Daum, in an interview on the Romanian Football Federations official YouTube channel, FRF TV, stated the match Romania would play next month against Denmark will be crucial for the national squads qualification campaign ahead of the 2018 edition of the World Cup. Daum went on to say top priority for him was the creation of a playing style, and if the national squad succeeded to have a spectacular progress, then results were sure to come.



    Cristoph Daum also said: “Thats what I want to see in the game against Denmark, I want to prove its something weve been working on, we need the three points, yet we need to focus more on how we manage to work together, on how we play, more than we can focus on results proper. If we play very good, good results and success are sure to come.



    Cristoph Daum also said he would like national squad fans to encourage the players in a decent manner, without using fireworks, crackers and torches. We recall that because of the incidents sparked by fans in the match against Poland, Romania was officially banned from playing their forthcoming home fixture on the National Arena in Bucharest, so the game against Denmark will be hosted by the central Transylvanian city of Cluj on March the 26th.



    According to preliminary E Group rankings, Poland are at the top of the table with 10 points, followed by Montenegro, with 7 points, Denmark, with 6 points, Romania, with 5 points, Armenia, with 3 points, and Kazakhstan, with 2 points.(Translated by E. Nasta)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne has cancelled the 3-point penalty with which Gaz Metan Medias has been sanctioned late last year by Romanian Football Federations Licensing Committee. The sanction was enforced for an allegedly pending debt to the Bulgarian club Cernomorets Burgas, yet Gaz Metan Medias has denied the existence of such a debt.


    Romanian national football team manager, the German Christoph Daum, in an interview on the Romanian Football Federations official YouTube channel, FRF TV, stated the match Romania would play next month against Denmark will be crucial for the national squads qualification campaign ahead of the 2018 edition of the World Cup. Daum went on to say top priority for him was the creation of a playing style, and if the national squad succeeded to have a spectacular progress, then results were sure to come.



    Cristoph Daum also said: “Thats what I want to see in the game against Denmark, I want to prove its something weve been working on, we need the three points, yet we need to focus more on how we manage to work together, on how we play, more than we can focus on results proper. If we play very good, good results and success are sure to come.



    Cristoph Daum also said he would like national squad fans to encourage the players in a decent manner, without using fireworks, crackers and torches. We recall that because of the incidents sparked by fans in the match against Poland, Romania was officially banned from playing their forthcoming home fixture on the National Arena in Bucharest, so the game against Denmark will be hosted by the central Transylvanian city of Cluj on March the 26th.



    According to preliminary E Group rankings, Poland are at the top of the table with 10 points, followed by Montenegro, with 7 points, Denmark, with 6 points, Romania, with 5 points, Armenia, with 3 points, and Kazakhstan, with 2 points.(Translated by E. Nasta)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    The domestic football season has its competition break these days. Quite a few of the teams have already started their training sessions, while the transfer season is in full swing. For instance, Dinamo Bucharest are looking for a center-back and a number 10 footballer, Dinamo manager Ioan Andone has announced. Andone was optimistic that the two hopefuls could be transferred to the team before January 15, when Dinamo are scheduled to travel to Spain, for their training session in that country. Gabriel Torje, Lucian Sânmărtean or the French Claude Dielna are likely to be signed up by Dinamo during the ongoing competition break, Andone went on to say.


    On schedule during Dinamos training period in Spain are four friendly matches. For that, Dinamo will take on Chinas Tianjin Teda, German second-league team Eintracht Braunschweig, FC Zürich of the Swiss second league and Hungarys Videoton of Székesfehérvár. Dinamo footballers will travel back to Romania at the end of their training session in Spain, on January 29th.



    Also included on the list of footballers Dinamo has eyed for their pool of regulars was


    Florin Cernat. FC Voluntari, the club Cernat is currently playing for, has announced their footballer, whose contract expires at the end of the season, extended his contract with the club until the summer of 2018. 36-year old Florin Cernat was also signed up by Oţelul Galaţi, Dinamo Bucureşti, Hajduk Split, Dinamo Kiev, Turkeys Karabukspor and Rizespor, as well as by FC Viitorul Constanţa.



    The captain of Romanias national football team Dragoş Grigore, has cast his vote for Leo Messi to be designated Best footballer in 2016, in a survey carried by FIFA. In descending order, also included on Grigores list were Portugals Cristiano Ronaldo and Spains Sergio Ramos. In the same survey, Romanias national team manager, the German Christoph Daum cast his vote in favor of his fellow Germans, Toni Kroos, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Mesut Özil. In the long run, most votes went in support of Cristiano Ronaldo.

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    The domestic football season has its competition break these days. Quite a few of the teams have already started their training sessions, while the transfer season is in full swing. For instance, Dinamo Bucharest are looking for a center-back and a number 10 footballer, Dinamo manager Ioan Andone has announced. Andone was optimistic that the two hopefuls could be transferred to the team before January 15, when Dinamo are scheduled to travel to Spain, for their training session in that country. Gabriel Torje, Lucian Sânmărtean or the French Claude Dielna are likely to be signed up by Dinamo during the ongoing competition break, Andone went on to say.


    On schedule during Dinamos training period in Spain are four friendly matches. For that, Dinamo will take on Chinas Tianjin Teda, German second-league team Eintracht Braunschweig, FC Zürich of the Swiss second league and Hungarys Videoton of Székesfehérvár. Dinamo footballers will travel back to Romania at the end of their training session in Spain, on January 29th.



    Also included on the list of footballers Dinamo has eyed for their pool of regulars was


    Florin Cernat. FC Voluntari, the club Cernat is currently playing for, has announced their footballer, whose contract expires at the end of the season, extended his contract with the club until the summer of 2018. 36-year old Florin Cernat was also signed up by Oţelul Galaţi, Dinamo Bucureşti, Hajduk Split, Dinamo Kiev, Turkeys Karabukspor and Rizespor, as well as by FC Viitorul Constanţa.



    The captain of Romanias national football team Dragoş Grigore, has cast his vote for Leo Messi to be designated Best footballer in 2016, in a survey carried by FIFA. In descending order, also included on Grigores list were Portugals Cristiano Ronaldo and Spains Sergio Ramos. In the same survey, Romanias national team manager, the German Christoph Daum cast his vote in favor of his fellow Germans, Toni Kroos, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Mesut Özil. In the long run, most votes went in support of Cristiano Ronaldo.

  • L’aperçu des principaux événements roumains de 2016

    L’aperçu des principaux événements roumains de 2016


    Un nouveau gouvernement en Roumanie



    La Roumanie a un nouveau premier ministre, en la personne de Sorin Grindeanu, ancien président du Conseil Départemental de Timis (ouest) et ancien député social-démocrate. Ce fut dailleurs, la 2nd option pour le fauteuil de premier ministre, le président Klaus Iohannis ayant rejeté, sans donner dexplications, la première proposition des sociaux-démocrates, en la personne de Mme Sevil Shhaideh, ancienne ministre du Développement et une présence très discrète sur la scène politique roumaine. Si elle avait été acceptée, elle serait devenue la première femme chef de gouvernement de lhistoire de la Roumanie, en plus, de confession musulmane. Par conséquent, le Parti Social Démocrate, soutenu par lAlliance des Libéraux et des Démocrates, revient au pouvoir, après une année de gouvernance technocrate, installée en novembre 2015 suite à damples manifestations de rue contre la corruption de la classe politique et qui ont entraîné la démission du premier ministre social-démocrate de lépoque et de son cabinet.



    Victoire retentissante du PSD aux élections parlementaires



    Les sociaux-démocrates et les libéraux – démocrates se sont adjugé la majorité au sein du nouveau Législatif, suite aux élections parlementaires du 11 décembre. Le chef du PSD, Liviu Dragnea, est devenu le président de la Chambre des Députés de Bucarest, alors que le co-président de lAlliance des Libéraux et des Démocrates, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, reste le chef du Sénat. Le PSD a remporté haut la main les élections législatives, avec plus de 45% des voix exprimées. Il est suivi à grande distance, avec 20% des voix seulement, par le Parti National Libéral (PNL), un résultat qui a déterminé sa présidente, Alina Gorghiu, à démissionner. En 3e position on retrouve une ONG transformée en parti politique quelques mois avant les élections, il sagit de lUnion sauvez la Roumanie (USR) qui a remporté 9% des votes. Parmi les autres formations qui ont franchi le seuil électoral de 5% figurent lAlliance des Libéraux et des Démocrates, lUnion Démocratique des Magyars de Roumanie et le Parti du Mouvement Populaire de lancien président Traian Basescu. Notons que lALDE est le partenaire avec lequel le PSD forme la majorité au Parlement et bénéficie donc de 4 portefeuilles de ministres. Pour sa part lUDMR a fait savoir quelle soutiendrait le cabinet de Sorin Grindeanu, sans pour autant recevoir de portefeuilles de ministres. Il convient aussi de préciser que moins de 40% des électeurs roumains se sont présentés aux urnes, pour élire les 456 députés et sénateurs. Ajoutons que le système de vote uninominal a été abandonné en faveur du système de listes de candidats, vu que le premier avait généré un Parlement trop nombreux, avec 586 élus.




    Première électorale à Bucarest



    Le 5 juin 2016, les Bucarestois ont élu, en première, une femme au fauteuil de maire de la capitale, la sénatrice sociale-démocrate Gabriela Vrânceanu-Firea. Ancienne journaliste, entrée en politique il y a 4 ans, celle-ci a ramassé 41% des voix dun électorat considéré comme favorisant la droite. La présence aux urnes a été de 33% à Bucarest, inférieure à la moyenne nationale de 48%. Les maires ont été élus en un seul tour de scrutin, le gagnant étant le candidat ayant réuni la majorité simple des voix exprimées. Cette mesure a été critiquée par la société civile et par la presse, selon lesquelles, la présence réduite aux urnes affaiblit la légitimité des édiles.



    Une politique étrangère constante



    En 2016, la Roumanie a maintenu sa position tradiitonnelle en matière de politique étrangère, tant en rapport avec ses alliés de lOTAN, quavec ses partenaires de lUE, mais aussi face à la Russie. Au cours de son mandat, lancien chef de la diplomatie roumaine, Lazar Comanescu, a constamment souligné limportance dune relation transatlantique solide et plaidé pour le renforcement du flanc oriental de lAlliance. Pour ce qui est de la Fédération de Russie, le mot dordre a été le pragmatisme – a encore affirmé lancien ministre. La position de Bucarest est restée ferme et concordante avec celle de lUE et de lOTAN en ce qui concerne les sanctions économiques et diplomatiques infligées à Moscou.



    Un président pro-russe en République de Moldova voisine



    Comme dhabitude, la politique étrangère roumaine a soutenu en 2016 aussi le processus de réforme en République de Moldova voisine, pour renforcer le parcours européen de ce pays ex-soviétique, à population majoritaire roumanophone. Toutefois, les relations bilatérales excellentes, facilitées par lattachement visible à la Roumanie de lancien président moldave Nicolae Timofti et par lexistence à Chisinau dun gouvernement et dune majorité parlementaire pro-occidentaux, risquent dêtre perturbées par les effets de lélection, en novembre dernier, du nouveau président – le socialiste pro-russe Igor Dodon. En apprenant le résultat du scrutin présidentiel moldave, le président roumain Klaus Iohannis sest contenté dannoncer dans un communiqué quil avait « pris acte du vote exprimé par les citoyens moldaves », sans mentionner le nom dIgor Dodon, connu pour sa virulente rhétorique anti-roumaine. Dans son communiqué, le chef de lEtat roumain nutilise que le syntagme « le nouveau président de la République de Moldova», qui, à son avis, devra faire preuve de sagesse et déquilibre au cours de son mandat.



    Une année sportive médiocre



    2016 a été une année sportive plutôt décevante pour la Roumanie. Aux JO de Rio, la Roumanie na décroché que 5 médailles – une dor, une dargent et trois de bronze. Par la suite, la médaille de bronze en haltérophilie a été retirée et le sportif Gabriel Sîncrăian, catégorie des 85 kilos, a été disqualifié pour dopage à la testostérone. La Roumanie occupe donc la 47e place au classement des médailles obtenues aux JO, soit son pire classement depuis 1952. Puis, en juin, à lEuro 2016, en France, la sélection nationale de foot de Roumanie a terminé dernière dans la Poule A du tournoi final. Suite à ce résultat, lentraîneur Anghel Iordanescu a été remplacé par lAllemand Cristoph Daum, le premier entraîneur étranger de lhistoire de léquipe nationale roumaine. Toutefois, les performances des footballeurs roumains ne se sont pas améliorées dans les premiers matchs des qualifications à la Coupe du monde 2018. En handball, bien que favorite aux médailles, la sélection nationale féminine de Roumanie a fini sur la 5e place au Championnat dEurope tenu en Suède. Enfin, en tennis, la meilleure joueuse roumaine, Simona Halep, a terminé lannée sur la 4e place de la hiérarchie mondiale. (Trad. Valentina Beleavski)

  • The 2016 Sports Year

    The 2016 Sports Year

    A year with ups and downs. It may sound like a cliché, but it’s all we can say about 2016. It was a year that brought European trophies for Romanian handball and volleyball, but also a year that saw the poorest performance of Romanian athletes in five decades, at the Summer Olympic Games.



    Monica Niculescu was the first Romanian tennis player to win a major tennis tournament in 2016. Together with American tennis player Vania King, in January Monica Niculescu won the women’s doubles event of the WTA tournament in Shenzen. In the finals, they secured a 6-1, 6-4 win against the first-seeded pair, made of Yi-Fan Xu and Saisai Zheng.



    The Australian Open followed, which is the first Grand Slam competition of the year, and where Simona Halep simply disappointed everyone. Halep was second seed in the tournament, but she was kicked out of the competition as early as the very first round, by a Chinese player with a much lower rating. Of the Romanians, the best placed was Horia Tecau, who reached as far as the mixed doubles final, together with Coco Vandeweghe from the US. In the semifinals they outplayed the Slovenian/Philippine pair made of Andreja Klepac and Treat Huey, 6-4, 6-4. However, Tecau and Vandeweghe were defeated in 3 sets by the Brazilian/Russian pair made of Bruno Soares and Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.



    In February, Romania’s women’s tennis team failed to qualify for the Fed Cup semifinals. In Cluj, in the quarterfinals, the team of the Czech Republic, who are the trophy holders, outperformed Romania 3-2.



    However, it was also in February that in women’s handball 2 Romanian teams, HCM Baia Mare and CSM Bucharest, secured their qualification to the Champions League’s quarterfinals. That same month, Romania’s national rugby team added as many as 3 wins to its record sheet, outperforming Portugal, 39-14, Spain, 21-18 and Russia, 30-nil.



    In March, the women’s epee team of the Bucharest-based club Steaua, made up of Ana Maria Popescu-Brânză, Simona Gherman, Simona Pop and Greta Vereş, won the European Epee Championship. In the finals, Steaua outperformed the Moscow Fencing Club, 45-38. Also in March, Romania’s greatest athlete of all time Iolanda Balas-Soter died, at the Elias Hospital in Bucharest, aged 79. Iolanda Balas Soter was an Olympic high-jump champion in Rome, in 1960 and in Tokyo, in 1964.



    In April Romanian volleyball reported a historic achievement. For the first time ever, a Romanian women’s team won a European competition. Municipal Sports Club Bucharest walked away with the CEV Challenge Cup, after having secured a double win in the tie against the Turkish contenders Trabzon, 3-1 at home as well as away. It was the first final a Romanian women’s team played and won since 1974, when Dinamo Bucharest’s men’s team walked away with bronze in the Cup winners Cups. Also in April, at the European Weightlifting Championships hosted by the town of Foerde in Norway, the Romanian athletes won 15 medals, of which 4 gold. At the European Judo Championships held in Kazan, Russia, the Romanian delegation also won 3 bronze medals.



    In May, the Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest won the Champions League trophy. In the semifinals hosted by the Hungarian capital city Budapest, CSM outclassed the Macedonian team Vardar Skopje, 27-21. Then in the finals, CSM took on Hungarian side Gyor. The scoreboard showed 21-all after regular time. Two 5-minute overtimes followed, with the two teams holding each other to a 25-all draw. CSM eventually won the match after penalty shootouts, 29 – 26.



    In tennis, the Madrid tournament was held in May, with two Romanians being among the winners. The women’s singles event was won by Simona Halep, who outperformed Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-4. In the men’s doubles, two Romanians were pitted against each other, being part of separate pairs. Horia Teacau and the Dutch Jean Julien Rojer outplayed Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna (India), 6-4, 7-6.



    The headline-grabbing event in June was the European Football Championship in France. Playing in group A, Romania lost to France, 1-2 and Albania, nil-1. Then Romania drew against Switzerland, 1-all. Also in June, Romania won 4 medals at the European Fencing Championships in Torun, Poland. Simona Gherman won the gold in the individual epee event, while Ana-Maria Popescu, whom she defeated in the final, walked away with silver. Romania’s women’s epee and men’s saber teams won the bronze medals.

  • The 2016 Sports Year

    The 2016 Sports Year

    A year with ups and downs. It may sound like a cliché, but it’s all we can say about 2016. It was a year that brought European trophies for Romanian handball and volleyball, but also a year that saw the poorest performance of Romanian athletes in five decades, at the Summer Olympic Games.



    Monica Niculescu was the first Romanian tennis player to win a major tennis tournament in 2016. Together with American tennis player Vania King, in January Monica Niculescu won the women’s doubles event of the WTA tournament in Shenzen. In the finals, they secured a 6-1, 6-4 win against the first-seeded pair, made of Yi-Fan Xu and Saisai Zheng.



    The Australian Open followed, which is the first Grand Slam competition of the year, and where Simona Halep simply disappointed everyone. Halep was second seed in the tournament, but she was kicked out of the competition as early as the very first round, by a Chinese player with a much lower rating. Of the Romanians, the best placed was Horia Tecau, who reached as far as the mixed doubles final, together with Coco Vandeweghe from the US. In the semifinals they outplayed the Slovenian/Philippine pair made of Andreja Klepac and Treat Huey, 6-4, 6-4. However, Tecau and Vandeweghe were defeated in 3 sets by the Brazilian/Russian pair made of Bruno Soares and Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.



    In February, Romania’s women’s tennis team failed to qualify for the Fed Cup semifinals. In Cluj, in the quarterfinals, the team of the Czech Republic, who are the trophy holders, outperformed Romania 3-2.



    However, it was also in February that in women’s handball 2 Romanian teams, HCM Baia Mare and CSM Bucharest, secured their qualification to the Champions League’s quarterfinals. That same month, Romania’s national rugby team added as many as 3 wins to its record sheet, outperforming Portugal, 39-14, Spain, 21-18 and Russia, 30-nil.



    In March, the women’s epee team of the Bucharest-based club Steaua, made up of Ana Maria Popescu-Brânză, Simona Gherman, Simona Pop and Greta Vereş, won the European Epee Championship. In the finals, Steaua outperformed the Moscow Fencing Club, 45-38. Also in March, Romania’s greatest athlete of all time Iolanda Balas-Soter died, at the Elias Hospital in Bucharest, aged 79. Iolanda Balas Soter was an Olympic high-jump champion in Rome, in 1960 and in Tokyo, in 1964.



    In April Romanian volleyball reported a historic achievement. For the first time ever, a Romanian women’s team won a European competition. Municipal Sports Club Bucharest walked away with the CEV Challenge Cup, after having secured a double win in the tie against the Turkish contenders Trabzon, 3-1 at home as well as away. It was the first final a Romanian women’s team played and won since 1974, when Dinamo Bucharest’s men’s team walked away with bronze in the Cup winners Cups. Also in April, at the European Weightlifting Championships hosted by the town of Foerde in Norway, the Romanian athletes won 15 medals, of which 4 gold. At the European Judo Championships held in Kazan, Russia, the Romanian delegation also won 3 bronze medals.



    In May, the Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest won the Champions League trophy. In the semifinals hosted by the Hungarian capital city Budapest, CSM outclassed the Macedonian team Vardar Skopje, 27-21. Then in the finals, CSM took on Hungarian side Gyor. The scoreboard showed 21-all after regular time. Two 5-minute overtimes followed, with the two teams holding each other to a 25-all draw. CSM eventually won the match after penalty shootouts, 29 – 26.



    In tennis, the Madrid tournament was held in May, with two Romanians being among the winners. The women’s singles event was won by Simona Halep, who outperformed Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-4. In the men’s doubles, two Romanians were pitted against each other, being part of separate pairs. Horia Teacau and the Dutch Jean Julien Rojer outplayed Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna (India), 6-4, 7-6.



    The headline-grabbing event in June was the European Football Championship in France. Playing in group A, Romania lost to France, 1-2 and Albania, nil-1. Then Romania drew against Switzerland, 1-all. Also in June, Romania won 4 medals at the European Fencing Championships in Torun, Poland. Simona Gherman won the gold in the individual epee event, while Ana-Maria Popescu, whom she defeated in the final, walked away with silver. Romania’s women’s epee and men’s saber teams won the bronze medals.

  • Athlete of the year in 2016: Tennis player Horia Tecau

    Athlete of the year in 2016: Tennis player Horia Tecau


    In 2016, Romania won its Olympic medal in tennis. It was a good year for professional tennis in Romania, but not a very good one for Romania’s Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. In the women’s singles, Romania still has one player in the world top ten, namely Simona Halep, while three other players are in the top 100, namely Irina Begu, Monica Niculescu and Sorana Cârstea. In the men’s doubles, Horia Tecǎu and Florin Mergea remain in the upper part of the ranking despite losing a few places compared with previous years.



    To select our Athlete of the Year on RRI, we looked at tens of athletes from all sports disciplines. Our most important criterion in establishing the winner of this title is the performance at the Olympic Games. At this point, our short-list included the women’s epee team who won the gold in Rio in the nations’ competition, and Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea, who walked away with silver in the men’s doubles in Rio.



    We then applied a new criterion, namely the athletes’ performances throughout the year and came up with our winner: Horia Tecau. And now let’s look at his performance this year. Tecau began 2016 by narrowly missing a new Grand Slam title. He reached the mixed doubles finals at the Australian Open, where he paired up with the American tennis player Coco Vandeweghe. However, the two were defeated by the Brazilian-Russian pair of Bruno Soares and Elena Vesnina in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.



    In April, Horia Tecau won his first tournament of the year. Together with Florin Mergea, he won the final of a tournament held in Bucharest against the Australian-Brazilian pair made up of Chris Guccione and Andre Sa. The score was 7-5, 6-4.



    Tecau then went on to defeat Florin Mergea in the Madrid final. The pair made up of Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer won their match against the Romanian-Indian pair Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna in two sets, 6-4, 7-6.



    Tecau then lost in the semifinals in Stuttgart, Washington and Toronto. At the Rio Olympic Games in August, Horia Tecau again paired up with Florin Mergea. The two had a flawless run to the final, where they were overpowered by the Spanish pair Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal, who won in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. The Romanians came close to winning the Olympic title. In the decisive set, they broke at 3-all but the Spaniards came from behind and won three games in a row to win the match and Olympic gold. Before the year-end, Tecau lost another final in the Cincinnati tournament and went through to the semis in the Basel tournament.



    And now for some background information about Horia Tecau. He was born in Brasov on January 19, 1985. He has been playing tennis since he was 7. In 2002 he won the junior doubles title in Wimbledon together with Florin Mergea. Tecau became a professional tennis player in 2003. In 2008, Tecau made to the top 100 in the doubles ranking before reaching the top 50 one year later, in November. He continued to climb in the rankings, reaching as far as world number 2 in November 2015, after winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November that year.

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    The Romanian Football Federation has informed the International Football Federation (FIFA) that the game pitting the national squads of Romania and Denmark, slated for March 26, 2017 as part of the preliminaries for the 2018 World Cup, will be played in Cluj, western Romania.



    In another move, the International Football Federation has launched a disciplinary investigation into the incidents caused by the fans during the match between Romania and Poland on November 11. FIFAs Disciplinary Committee decided that Romanias national team can play the next fixture against Denmark in front of its fans, although not on National Arena stadium in Bucharest.



    This will be Romanias second match played on Cluj Arena in the current preliminary campaign, after 1-all draw against Montenegro in the match played in September. In March, Romania played a friendly game against Spain, which ended in a blank draw.



    In news from international football, Deportivo de La Corunas striker Florin Andone has very good chances of winning the Romanian Footballer of the Year Award in 2016. Andone had an excellent run with Cordoba in the first half of the year, but his team was relegated. As of July, Andone was signed by Deportivo, and has scored 6 goals in the last 6 matches. Andone scored in his clubs 2-nil win against Osasuna Pamplona. He has 12 caps for Romanias national team ever since being first drafted in 2015. Born in 1993 in a village in northern Moldavia, Florin Andone has played football only for Spanish clubs.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    The Romanian Football Federation has informed the International Football Federation (FIFA) that the game pitting the national squads of Romania and Denmark, slated for March 26, 2017 as part of the preliminaries for the 2018 World Cup, will be played in Cluj, western Romania.



    In another move, the International Football Federation has launched a disciplinary investigation into the incidents caused by the fans during the match between Romania and Poland on November 11. FIFAs Disciplinary Committee decided that Romanias national team can play the next fixture against Denmark in front of its fans, although not on National Arena stadium in Bucharest.



    This will be Romanias second match played on Cluj Arena in the current preliminary campaign, after 1-all draw against Montenegro in the match played in September. In March, Romania played a friendly game against Spain, which ended in a blank draw.



    In news from international football, Deportivo de La Corunas striker Florin Andone has very good chances of winning the Romanian Footballer of the Year Award in 2016. Andone had an excellent run with Cordoba in the first half of the year, but his team was relegated. As of July, Andone was signed by Deportivo, and has scored 6 goals in the last 6 matches. Andone scored in his clubs 2-nil win against Osasuna Pamplona. He has 12 caps for Romanias national team ever since being first drafted in 2015. Born in 1993 in a village in northern Moldavia, Florin Andone has played football only for Spanish clubs.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    Bulgarian squad Ludogorets Razgrad’s chances to go through to the European spring have significantly diminished in the wake of this past Wednesday’s Champions League round. With two Romanian footballers in their lineup, in a home fixture counting towards the League’s Group A, Ludogorets were held to a blank draw by Swiss contenders FC Basle. Cosmin Moti was on the pitch all throughout the game, and got yellow-booked in minute 84. The other Romanian footballer playing for Ludogorets, Claudiu Keseru was a full-timer, being on the pitch before added time, when he was replaced by Ukrainian Igor Plastun.



    Ludogorets put on a lackluster performance, failing to create major opportunities to score, and in the Champions League‘s next round they will have a distance fight with Basel, to be able to secure the 3rd place in the group, which entitles Ludogorets to a place in Europa League’s round of last 32. On December 6th, Ludogorets Razgrad take on PSG away from home, while FC Basel face Arsenal on home turf.


    One week ahead of Romanian football’s all-time derby pitting Steaua against Dinamo, the latter club is yet again facing serious legal problems. A week ago, the Bucharest Court imposed a precautionary distraint upon the shares the main financier Ionut Negoita holds in the Dinamo club. The ruling is grounded in Negoita’s two-million Euro pending debt to the former president of Dinamo’s managing board Nicolae Badea. According to Digisport, Badea has officially banned Negoita from using the Dinamo brand-name as well as the fcdinamo.ro Internet domain. Digisport also said there are rumors about Nicolae Badea trying to take back the club from Negoita. That’s all from Football Flash this week. (Translated by E. Nasta)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    Bulgarian squad Ludogorets Razgrad’s chances to go through to the European spring have significantly diminished in the wake of this past Wednesday’s Champions League round. With two Romanian footballers in their lineup, in a home fixture counting towards the League’s Group A, Ludogorets were held to a blank draw by Swiss contenders FC Basle. Cosmin Moti was on the pitch all throughout the game, and got yellow-booked in minute 84. The other Romanian footballer playing for Ludogorets, Claudiu Keseru was a full-timer, being on the pitch before added time, when he was replaced by Ukrainian Igor Plastun.



    Ludogorets put on a lackluster performance, failing to create major opportunities to score, and in the Champions League‘s next round they will have a distance fight with Basel, to be able to secure the 3rd place in the group, which entitles Ludogorets to a place in Europa League’s round of last 32. On December 6th, Ludogorets Razgrad take on PSG away from home, while FC Basel face Arsenal on home turf.


    One week ahead of Romanian football’s all-time derby pitting Steaua against Dinamo, the latter club is yet again facing serious legal problems. A week ago, the Bucharest Court imposed a precautionary distraint upon the shares the main financier Ionut Negoita holds in the Dinamo club. The ruling is grounded in Negoita’s two-million Euro pending debt to the former president of Dinamo’s managing board Nicolae Badea. According to Digisport, Badea has officially banned Negoita from using the Dinamo brand-name as well as the fcdinamo.ro Internet domain. Digisport also said there are rumors about Nicolae Badea trying to take back the club from Negoita. That’s all from Football Flash this week. (Translated by E. Nasta)

  • Review of Romania’s performance at the Rio Summer Olympics

    Review of Romania’s performance at the Rio Summer Olympics

    The bottom line of Romania’s performance at the Rio Summer Olympics consists in five medals, of which one gold, one silver and three bronze, taking the 47th place in the Olympic medal table. It emerged better placed than Bulgaria or Ireland, but behind Uzbekistan and Slovenia. It had a poorer performance in these Games than in all the previous Olympic Games of the past 60 years, similar to that of 1952, held in Helsinki, when the Romanian delegation got only 4 medals of which one gold.


    Let us now take a look back at Romania’s participation in the Rio Olympics. The women’s epee team, made up of Ana Maria Popescu, Simona Pop, Simona Gherman and Loredana Dinu, world and European champions in many competitions, have brought the Romanian fencing delegation the first Olympic title in the team competition. Although in the individual event the athletes had a modest performance, they proved their mettle in the team event. This performance is the more impressive as it occurs at the end of their career for almost all the athletes in the Romanian epee team. Besides Simona Pop, born in 1988, the other three athletes are over 30, and are also the winners of many medals in top competitions.



    The silver medal was won by the Romanian tennis pair Florin Mergea/ Horia Tecău. The two lost the final to the Spanish pair Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal, 2-6, 6-3, 4-6. In the decisive match, they managed a break at 3-3, but the Spaniards bounced back and won three games in a row. Nevertheless, the Romanian tennis delegation brought Romania its first Olympic medal.



    The first bronze medal for Romania at the Rio 2016 was won by weightlifter Gabriel Sâncrǎian, who managed to lift a total of 390 kg, after lifting 173 kg in the snatch and 217 kg in the clean and jerk, surpassing many of the favorite athletes in the 85 kg category. Denis Ulanov of Kazakhstan also lifted 390 kg, but the Romanian athlete was put at an advantage by his body weight, as he weighed 600 grams less than his runner-up.



    In rowing, the Romanian delegation won a bronze medal in the women’s coxed eight event. After failing to win a medal in London four years ago, and after the poor results obtained in the world championship, the women’s coxed eight crew brought Romania an unexpected bronze medal.



    Also in the Rio Olympics, Albert Saritov won a second bronze medal for Romania in the wrestling freestyle event, in the 97 kg category. Saritov is a native of Daghestan, he is of Chechen origin, and has received the Romanian citizenship this year.



    A big disappointment was the women’s handball team that did not manage to make it to the group stage. The Romanian handballers had a bad start. They lost to Angola and Brazil, defeated Montenegro and Spain but were thrashed by Norway.



    The Romanian gymnastics delegation also failed to win medals. Veteran Marian Dragulescu in came 4th in the vault event, on a par with the bronze medallist, Japanese Kenzo Shirai. The Romanian gymnast had an average of 15.449 points, just like the Japanese, but the mark for execution was higher for the Japanese for both vaults.



    All in all, we can conclude that the results of the Romanian delegation in Rio 2016 reflect the current situation of Romanian sports. Under financed, neglected in school curricula, with less children willing to get involved in professional sports, Romanian sports are waiting for a miracle to return to the place they once held at world level. Now Romania is only in the 47th position in the Olympic medal table.