Athlete of the week

Florin Orban, 28.03.2023, 12:44

Romanias handball side Rapid Bucharest achieved a top-notch performance on Sunday. Romanias defending champions have for the first time qualified for the Champions Leagues quarter finals since this major competition has taken place in the present format. Rapid won the European Champions Cup in 1964, the IHF in 1993 and the City Cup in 2000. It has presently joined the competitions first eight sides after a 30-24 win against Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana.

Rapid had to cover a five-goal difference, as the first match in Slovenia ended 29-24 to the hosts. Estavana Polman proved to be Rapids best player with 8 goals scored but according to experts the one who made the real difference was Sorina Grozav. The young player has arrested the attention of the official site of the European Handball Federation eurohandball.com, for the four goals scored in the end of the game, which titled the balance in favour of the Romanian side. For the contribution she had in the victory of her side, Radio Romania International has designated Sorina Grozav athlete of the week.

Sorina Grozav was born in Râmnicu Vâlcea, southwestern Romania on 27th May 1999, in a family of athletes. Her mother, Mariana Tîrcă, has been a local handball legend with 335 caps for the national side and no less than 2043 goals scored, which is a world record with a national side. Sorina started off on the right foot in handball as a junior in the lineup of a local highschool, which boasted a special training center at that time.

She made her debut in senior competitions at the age of 16 with Corona Brasov, an ambitious side in southern Romania. In 2021, she was borrowed by Rapid Bucharest, a team which eventually hired her for good in 2022. She won her first cap for the national handball side in 2016 during the Carpathians Trophy held in Cluj Napoca, western Romania.

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