Radio România Internațional

Tag: table

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    The European table tennis championships
    were held in Polish capital city Warsaw late last week. For the
    event, the Romanian delegation was made of the best table tennis
    players of the national lineups, among whom, European champions
    Elizabeta Samara, Bernadette Szőcs and Daniela Dodean Monteiro.
    Romanian delegation’s set objective was to test the athletes’ level
    of training ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. We recall that securing
    their participation to the Olympics in Japan was Romanian women’s
    table tennis team made of three athletes. Bernadette competed in the
    women’s singles and the mixed doubles, Elizabeta Samara, in the
    women’s singles, while Ovidiu Ionescu participated in the men’s
    singles and the mixed doubles.

    The event in Warsaw was the litmus test for Romanian athletes’ real level of training and performance; the
    Romanians still have a lot of things to improve, while their run at
    the recently-held championships was a below-par one. The 2018
    European vice-champion Ovidiu Ionescu was unable to go past the
    quarterfinals. In the women’s version of the event, only four
    Romanian table tennis players reached as far as the round of 32.
    Adina Diaconu and Bernadette Szőcs were unable to push themselves
    forward in the competition. Daniela Dodean made it to the the round
    of 16 but she stopped right there. Elizabeta Samara played the semis,
    but she was defeated by Germany’s Petrissa Solja, who went on to win
    the European title. Eliza walked away with the bronze medal, which,
    all things considered, was the Romanian delegation’s best result.
    Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Elizabeta
    Samara the Athlete of the week.

    Elizabeta Samara was born on April 15,
    1989, in Constanta. Her record, among other things, includes a string
    of European titles she won in the women’s singles, women’s doubles or
    mixed doubles events. Eliza also won the European title with the
    national women’s team. Elizabeta Samara participated in three
    editions of the Olympics, in Beijing, in 2008, in London, in 2012 and
    in Rio, in 2016. Elizabeta is currently signed up by the Army’s
    Steaua Bucharest Sports Club.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    No time off for Romanian football these days. The week
    saw matches being played, counting towards League One’s 19th round,
    while 20th round matches will kick-start at the weekend. On Tuesday,
    Viitorul Constanta drew against Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe, 3-all, the match pitting
    FC Voluntari against Universitatrea Craiova also ended in a draw, 1-all, while
    a blank draw was the result of the match pitting FC Arges against FCSB. On
    Wednesday, Academica Clinceni grabbed a 2-1 home win against FC Botosani, UTA
    Arad secured an away win against Poli Iasi, also 2-1, while also 2-1 was the
    score of the match pitting Dinamo Bucharest against Gaz Metan Medias. On
    Thursday, 19th round’s last two games saw FC Hermannstadt Sibiu
    facing Chindia Targovste and CFR Cluj taking on Astra Giurgiu. Both fixtures ended 1-all.


    Matches counting towards League One’s 20th
    round are scheduled at the weekend. On Friday, Universitatea Craiova face FC Arges.
    On Saturday, Gaz Metan Medias play a home game against Academica Clinceni,
    Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe face FC Voluntari, also on home turf, while top-of-the
    table team FCSB take on bottom-of- the-table Politehnica Iasi On Sunday, FC
    Botosani play a home game against cu FC Hermannstadt. In Giurgiu, in the south,
    the local team Astra face Viitorul Constanţa, while UTA Arad take on Dinamo
    Bucharest, also on home turf. On Monday, Chindia Targoviste are pitted against
    CFR Cluj. FCSB are still the leader of the as-it-stands table, with 42 points,
    while CFR Cluj are the runner-up team, with 41.


    No Romanian women’s handball team will play their
    fixture in the Champions League’s 9th round this coming weekend,
    since CSM Bucharest’s Group A game against German opponents Bietigheim
    scheduled on Saturday, January 30, was postponed because of the COVID-19
    infections reported for Bietigheim. No date has so far been officially set for
    the game.



    ——-



  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    No time off for Romanian football these days. The week
    saw matches being played, counting towards League One’s 19th round,
    while 20th round matches will kick-start at the weekend. On Tuesday,
    Viitorul Constanta drew against Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe, 3-all, the match pitting
    FC Voluntari against Universitatrea Craiova also ended in a draw, 1-all, while
    a blank draw was the result of the match pitting FC Arges against FCSB. On
    Wednesday, Academica Clinceni grabbed a 2-1 home win against FC Botosani, UTA
    Arad secured an away win against Poli Iasi, also 2-1, while also 2-1 was the
    score of the match pitting Dinamo Bucharest against Gaz Metan Medias. On
    Thursday, 19th round’s last two games saw FC Hermannstadt Sibiu
    facing Chindia Targovste and CFR Cluj taking on Astra Giurgiu. Both fixtures ended 1-all.


    Matches counting towards League One’s 20th
    round are scheduled at the weekend. On Friday, Universitatea Craiova face FC Arges.
    On Saturday, Gaz Metan Medias play a home game against Academica Clinceni,
    Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe face FC Voluntari, also on home turf, while top-of-the
    table team FCSB take on bottom-of- the-table Politehnica Iasi On Sunday, FC
    Botosani play a home game against cu FC Hermannstadt. In Giurgiu, in the south,
    the local team Astra face Viitorul Constanţa, while UTA Arad take on Dinamo
    Bucharest, also on home turf. On Monday, Chindia Targoviste are pitted against
    CFR Cluj. FCSB are still the leader of the as-it-stands table, with 42 points,
    while CFR Cluj are the runner-up team, with 41.


    No Romanian women’s handball team will play their
    fixture in the Champions League’s 9th round this coming weekend,
    since CSM Bucharest’s Group A game against German opponents Bietigheim
    scheduled on Saturday, January 30, was postponed because of the COVID-19
    infections reported for Bietigheim. No date has so far been officially set for
    the game.



    ——-



  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    With 2 matches played in the Euro 2022 qualifiers, Romanias mens handball team ranks second in Group 8. Romania was defeated by Sweden in Gothenburg on Thursday night, 30-33, and won the following match, 36-27 against Montenegro in Baia Mare, on Sunday. On the same day, Sweden beat Kosovo, in Prishtina, 30-16. Sweden is top of the group with 4 points, followed by Romania with 2, Montenegro, also 2 points, and Kosovo with 0 points.



    Romanias next game will be on March 10, away from home, against Kosovo. Twenty-four countries will take part in the 2022 European Handball Championship. Defending champions Spain and vice-champions Croatia are already qualified, and so are the host countries Hungary and Slovakia. The top 2 teams in each group and the best 4 teams ranking 3rd in their group will also move on into the final tournament. Romania last took part in a European handball championship in 1996, in Spain, where it came out 9th.



    In womens handball, CSM Bucharest outplayed the Slovenian side RK Krim Ljubljana, 25-23, away from home on Saturday night, in the Champions League Group A. also on Saturday, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria was, surprisingly, defeated in Budapest by SG BBM Bietigheim, 35-24, while Rostov-on-Don beat Team Esbjerg, 28-24. The game pitting Vipers Kristiansand against Metz Handball was postponed. After Saturdays leg, CSM Bucharest ranks first in the group with 10 points out of 6 games, followed by Rostov-on-Don with 9p in 5 games, Vipers Kristiansand, 7p in 4 games, Metz Handball, 6p in 5 games, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 4p in 5 games, Team Esbjerg and RK Krim Mercator Ljubljana – 3p (6 games), and SG BBM Bietigheim, 2p (7 games). CSM Bucharest is next to take on Krim, at home on November 14.



    The Romanian player Bernadette Szocs left the Table Tennis World Cup in Weihai (China), after she was defeated in the 8th-finals by Chinas Meng Chen, 4 – 0. Bernadette Szocs had to self-isolate for 15 days in order to take part in the tournament. She had come out 2nd in the qualifier groups, after losing a match to Hyo-won Suh (South Korea), 2-4, and winning against Dina Meshref (Egypt), 4 – 3.



    In Romanian football League One, matches were played this weekend, counting for the 10th round. Top of the standings so far as FCSB and Universitatea Craiova, with 24 points each, followed by CFR Cluj with 21 points. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    With 2 matches played in the Euro 2022 qualifiers, Romanias mens handball team ranks second in Group 8. Romania was defeated by Sweden in Gothenburg on Thursday night, 30-33, and won the following match, 36-27 against Montenegro in Baia Mare, on Sunday. On the same day, Sweden beat Kosovo, in Prishtina, 30-16. Sweden is top of the group with 4 points, followed by Romania with 2, Montenegro, also 2 points, and Kosovo with 0 points.



    Romanias next game will be on March 10, away from home, against Kosovo. Twenty-four countries will take part in the 2022 European Handball Championship. Defending champions Spain and vice-champions Croatia are already qualified, and so are the host countries Hungary and Slovakia. The top 2 teams in each group and the best 4 teams ranking 3rd in their group will also move on into the final tournament. Romania last took part in a European handball championship in 1996, in Spain, where it came out 9th.



    In womens handball, CSM Bucharest outplayed the Slovenian side RK Krim Ljubljana, 25-23, away from home on Saturday night, in the Champions League Group A. also on Saturday, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria was, surprisingly, defeated in Budapest by SG BBM Bietigheim, 35-24, while Rostov-on-Don beat Team Esbjerg, 28-24. The game pitting Vipers Kristiansand against Metz Handball was postponed. After Saturdays leg, CSM Bucharest ranks first in the group with 10 points out of 6 games, followed by Rostov-on-Don with 9p in 5 games, Vipers Kristiansand, 7p in 4 games, Metz Handball, 6p in 5 games, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 4p in 5 games, Team Esbjerg and RK Krim Mercator Ljubljana – 3p (6 games), and SG BBM Bietigheim, 2p (7 games). CSM Bucharest is next to take on Krim, at home on November 14.



    The Romanian player Bernadette Szocs left the Table Tennis World Cup in Weihai (China), after she was defeated in the 8th-finals by Chinas Meng Chen, 4 – 0. Bernadette Szocs had to self-isolate for 15 days in order to take part in the tournament. She had come out 2nd in the qualifier groups, after losing a match to Hyo-won Suh (South Korea), 2-4, and winning against Dina Meshref (Egypt), 4 – 3.



    In Romanian football League One, matches were played this weekend, counting for the 10th round. Top of the standings so far as FCSB and Universitatea Craiova, with 24 points each, followed by CFR Cluj with 21 points. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Road to the Olympics

    Road to the Olympics

    Romania has a successful history in table tennis, especially in the women’s
    competitions. Angelica Rozeanu, for example, dominated world competitions in
    the 1950s. In the 1960s and 70s, Maria Alexandru won several gold medals at
    world and European championships. Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988
    in Seul. Romania began to participate in the Olympic Games in 1992, in
    Barcelona. The best Olympic Games result came from Adrian Crişan, who reached
    the quarterfinals at the London Olympics in 2012.




    Cristinel Romanescu, the president of the Romanian Table Tennis
    Federation, tells us who has qualified so far for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics:




    Romania’s women’s team secured qualification in January, in Portugal. This
    means two players are also qualified for the singles competition, namely Elizabeta Samara and Bernadette Szőcs. Romania’s mixed doubles pair Ovidiu
    Ionescu and Bernadette Szőcs have
    also boked their ticket. The men’s team qualification is still undecided. All
    qualifying events have been postponed, most likely for next year, but we don’t
    yet have a clear date from the International Federation.




    At the moment, the latest classification published
    by the International Table Tennis Federation places Bernadette Szőcs in the 24th
    position and Elizabeta Samara in the 31st position, while in the men’s
    ranking, Ovidiu Ionescu is in 59th place.

  • September 6, 2019 UPDATE

    September 6, 2019 UPDATE

    MEETING The Romanian Foreign Minister Ramona-Nicole Manescu had a meeting on Friday with the Ambassador of the UK to Bucharest, Andrew Noble. The talks focused on the Romanian-British cooperation in the ensuing period, in the context of Britains withdrawal from the EU. Ramona Manescu reconfirmed Romanias interest in an orderly exit of the UK, and emphasised the special attention paid by Bucharest to protecting the rights of the Romanian citizens living in Britain. Over 140,000 Romanians have applied for the UK settled status, a system created in order to protect the rights of the EU citizens living in Britain post-Brexit, the British Embassy in Romania announced in a Facebook post on Friday. According to the latest estimates, the Romanian community in Britain is about half a million people.



    COMMEMORATION Tribute was paid on Friday, in all military units in Romania and the theatres of operation, to the Romanian military killed in an attack in Kabul on Thursday and claimed by the Taliban. On Monday night, another Romanian national, who was part of the security staff of the Romanian diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, was killed in a terrorist attack that targeted a compound hosting embassy headquarters, including that of Romania. Another Romanian was wounded in this attack, also claimed by the Taliban, and later transferred to Europe for medical assistance. The building hosting the embassy was severely damaged, its staff being for the time being hosted by a NATO military base. In Bucharest, president Klaus Iohannis and PM Viorica Dancila have sent their condolences in the aftermath of the two attacks and have reiterated Romania’s support for the fight against terrorism. A crisis cell was established at the foreign ministry. Almost 30 Romanian soldiers have died since 2003 in Afghanistan, where Romania has deployed 762 military as part of the NATO Resolute Support mission.



    DIASPORA Bucharest is hosting on Saturday and Sunday the Annual Conference of the Romanian World Council, on topics concerning the Romanian communities abroad. The Commission for Romanian communities abroad and the Romanian World Council organise on Saturday a conference on “The Diaspora, the Romanians in historic communities and the goal of ReUnion. Also in Bucharest, the Forum of the Romanians abroad takes place until Sunday, bringing together over 120 representatives of the Romanian diaspora. The participants take part in working sessions, workshops and debates, together with officials for several public institutions. The topics approached include Romanian tuition in schools, investments and opportunities to return to Romania, and voting abroad.



    FESTIVAL This weekend 16 concerts and recitals are scheduled to take place as part of the George Enescu International Festival, in Bucharest and other cities in the country and abroad, such as Florence (Italy) and Toronto (Canada). The Festival is an opportunity for music lovers to listen to performances by musicians from around the world. Radio Romania has been a co-producer of the Festival ever since its first edition, in 1958. This year, most concerts in the Festival can be listened to live on Radio Romania Music, and the Radio Broadcasting Corporations Concert Hall will also host some of the performances.



    TENNIS The 19-year-old Canadian player of Romanian origin Bianca Andreescu will be facing Serena Williams in the women’s final at the US Open. Andreescu, who was yet to go past the second round in a Grand Slam, on Thursday defeated Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, while Serena Williams made it to her tenth US Open final after defeating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.



    TABLE TENNIS The Romanian women’s table tennis team Friday advanced to the semi-finals of the European Table Tennis Championships in Nantes, France, after defeating the host team 3-nil in the quarterfinals. On Saturday Romania takes on Poland, which outperformed the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)