Sports Weekend

Romania’s national rugby side have qualified for the World
Cup 2023 in France. The oaks’ way towards the prestigious rugby competition has
been smoothed out by the elimination of Spain, which used an illegible player
in two matches within the Rugby Europe Championship 2021-2022. Initially,
following the results in the aforementioned European competition, Romania had
to join the play-offs. But now Portugal and the side ranking after Romania will
go into the play-offs. In France, Romania will be part of Group B together with
defending champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and the first side ranking
in the Asia/Pacific zone.

Florin Orban, 29.04.2022, 12:55

Romania’s national rugby side have qualified for the World
Cup 2023 in France. The oaks’ way towards the prestigious rugby competition has
been smoothed out by the elimination of Spain, which used an illegible player
in two matches within the Rugby Europe Championship 2021-2022. Initially,
following the results in the aforementioned European competition, Romania had
to join the play-offs. But now Portugal and the side ranking after Romania will
go into the play-offs. In France, Romania will be part of Group B together with
defending champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and the first side ranking
in the Asia/Pacific zone.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep secured a 6-2, 6-3 win
against Shuai Zhang, of China on Thursday in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament
hosted by Madrid, which has more than 6 million euros in prize money. Also in
the first round, Sorana Cîrstea of Romania has conceded defeat to Spanish
player Nuria Parrizas Diaz, 6-4, 6-2, while Irina Begu lost to Belinda Bencic
of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-1.

Bulgarian capital Sofia is this weekend hosting The European
Judo Championships an event which brings together over 360 athletes of 40
countries. Romania is being represented by 9 judokas, six in men’s and 3 in
women’s competitions. Athletes from Romania walked away with no medal from last
year’s edition of the aforementioned competition, the last medal was won by Andrea
Chiţu, in Prague in 2020, in the 52-kilogram category.

The Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest will be
playing Danish side Team Esbjerg in a home match counting towards the Champions
League quarter finals. The Romanian side also relies on left-back Eduarda
Amorim of Brazil who has also played for Russian side Rostov-Don, which has
been excluded from the Champions League due to the war in Ukraine.

And now football. This weekend will be seeing the matches of
the seventh leg of Romania’s first football league. On Friday Sepsi Sfantu
Gheorghe will be playing Gaz Metan Medias and Chindia Targoviste is up against
Rapid Bucharest. On Saturday, Dinamo Bucharest plays Academica Clinceni in a
home game while in Craiova, western Romania, local side FCU 1948 takes on UTA
Arad. On Monday, CS Mioveni, on their own turf will be playing FC Botosani. Gaz
Metan with minus 37 points and Academica with minus five are presently at the
bottom of the table and cannot avoid demotion any more.

Dinamo Bucharest with 16 points will go into the playoffs in
an attempt to remain in the first football league.

In the other matches on Saturday, Universitatea Craiova on
their own turf will be playing FC Voluntari while on Sunday, Farul Constanta
travels to Cluj to take on local side CFR. FCSB takes on FC Arges on the
National Arena stadium in Bucharest on Monday. CFR tops the table with 48
points followed by FCSB with 46 and Universitatea Craiova with 42.

(bill)