Radio Romania International Sports Club

Florin Orban, 12.01.2022, 12:52

The year 2022 provided an auspicious start for Romanian
handball. The Romanian women’s handball teams involved in the European League
took the start line in the competition’s group stage with a noted series of
wins against well-established European teams. The Romanian men’s national squad
came at the top of the table in their group as part of the early stage of the
2023 World Championship preliminaries.

In European League’s Group B, Minaur Baia Mare succeeded
a 34-32 home win against Polish opponents Zagrebie Lublin. In Group C, Magura
Cisnadie won the home fixture they played against Norwegian challengers
Storhamar, 33 to 28. Minaur and Magura Cisnadie are at the top of the
as-it-stands stable in their groups. Because of pandemic-related reasons, the Group
D match pitting SCM Ramnicu Valcea against Danish side Viborg was postponed. We
recall the confrontation was scheduled this past weekend. Later this week matches
will be played, counting towards the second round of the competition’s group stage. Minaur
Baia Mare travel to Germany for a game against Bietigheim, while in Denmark, Magura
Cisnadie play their away fixture against Herning-Ikast. The match pitting SCM
Râmnicu Vâlcea against the Hungarian side Vác will be played this coming
Sunday.

Fixture counting towards the Champions League will
also be resumed this coming weekend. CSM Bucharest play their away match
against Montenegro’s Buducnost Podgorica. Cristina Neagu’s team is 5th
placed in Group A, with four wins and four defeats on their record sheet. Buducnost
Podgorica are 7th-placed in the same group.

Romanian men’s national team late last week emerged as
winners of the 3rd group as part of the 2023 World Championship preliminaries’
initial stage. The matches were played in Cluj. Israel,
Cyprus, Republic of Moldova were also 3rd group teams. Because of COVID-related
reasons, Cyprus did not travel to Romania, so they officially lost all their
fixtures, according to a decision mad at the green table. Romania won the game against
Israel, 33-30, as well as the match against Republic of Moldova, 33 to 23. In
the decisive match for the runner-up position in the group, Israel outperformed
Republic of Moldova, 42 to 31. The group’s first two teams in descending order
advance to the World Championship preliminaries’ second stage.

(EN)