Sports flash

The latest from women's tennis, women's and men's volleyball and women's handball

Florin Orban, 24.02.2022, 13:45

The Doha tennis tournament, with 2,600,000 USD in
prize money has no Romanian tennis players left in the competition. The last Romanian
tennis player to have competed in the women’s singles, Jacqueline Cristian, sustained
a second-round defeat as she abandoned the confrontation with Russian opponent Daria
Kasatkina. Having won the first set, 6-2, in the second set Cristian sustained a
right-knee injury and was taken away from the court in a wheelchair.

The Romanian team Volei Alba Blaj this past Wednesday
in Targu Mures sustained a nil-3 defeat by Turkish opponents, Eczacibaşi Istanbul,
in a match counting towards the first leg of women’s volleyball CEV Cup semifinals.
Romania’s vice-champion team Volei Alba Blaj conceded
defeat after only one hour and 22 minutes of play. Volei Alba Blaj are highly unlikely
to advance to the competition’s final. The second leg of the tie is scheduled
on March the 1st in Istanbul.

Eczacibaşi is one of Turkey’s best teams, whose record
is impressive, including the winning of the Champions League in 2015 and of the
CEV Cup in 1999 and 2018.

In news from men’s volleyball, Arcada Galaţi and Steaua
Bucharest this past Wednesday have qualified for Romanian Cup’s Final Four tournament.
Arcada Galați defeated holders Dinamo Bucharest 3-nil, having secured a first-leg,
3-1 away win. Steaua succeeded a 3-nil win against Olimpia Titanii Bucharest.
In the first leg Steaua had also won, 3-1. The Final Four tournament also
includes SCM ”U” Craiova, who outclassed Ştiinţa Baia Mare, 3-nil and 3-1,
respectively, and SCM Zalau, a team that outperformed Explorari Baia Mare,
3-nil and 3-2, respectively.

In a friendly game held in Spain’s Marbella, Romanian women’s national
football team defeated the team of Northern Ireland, 1-nil. The game’s only
goal was scored by Diana Marcu on 63 minutes. According to the FIFA rankings,
Romania is 42nd-placed, while Northern Ireland is 46th.

In the debut game as part of the training stage in Spain,
Romania sustained a 1-6 defeat by Austria. Romania’s national women’s football
team on April 8th takes on Switzerland at home, while on April 12,
Romania faces Croatia, away. Both fixtures count towards the 2023 World Cup
preliminaries.

(EN)