Sports Year 2015 (II)

Here is the second part of our retrospective of the sports events of the year 2015.

Florin Orban, 05.01.2015, 12:30

We begin with tennis, since in July 2015, the Romanian-Dutch pair made of Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer won the Wimbledon tournaments mens doubles final, grabbing a 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in the game against the British-Australian pair made up of Jamie Murray and John Peers. It was Horia Tecaus first win at Wimbledon, after he lost the finals he jointly played with Robert Lindstedt of Sweden for three consecutive years in 2010, 2011 and 2012. We recall that back in 1975 the Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase won the mens doubles at Wimbledon, pairing up with Jimmy Connors. Horia Tecau is the second Romanian to have won a Grand Slam tournament in the mens doubles.



Romania also had a praiseworthy run at the World Fencing Championships in Moscow. In the individual saber event, Tiberiu Dolniceanu got bronze, while in the nations competition, Romanias Ana-Maria Brânză, Simona Gherman, Simona Pop and Loredana Dinu walked away with silver, having lost the final against China, 36 to 45.



In August 2015, the World Kayak-Canoe Championships meant two noteworthy performances for Romania. The mens four canoe crew, made of Leonid Carp, Petre Condrat, Iosif Chirilă and Ştefan Andrei Strat managed a sweeping win in the 1000m event, having had the lead all throughout the race. The silver medal went to Ukraine, while Hungary won bronze. The kayak four men crew, made of Traian Neagu, Cătălin Turceag, Daniel Burciu and Petruş Gavrilă came in 7th in the 1000m race, being included among the first ten crews that booked their ticket for the Olympic Games in Rio.

Also in August 2015, in the World Judo Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan, Romania won two medals. Andreea Chitu, in the 52-kilogram category and Corina Caprioriu in the 57-kilogram category both walked away with silver.

The World Rowing Championships held in France in September were also crucial for a ticket to the Olympic Games in Rio. The Romanian Rowing Federations stated aim was reached, namely that of having at least three crews book their ticket for the Olympic Games. The womens double scull crew made of Cristina Grigoras and Laura Oprea won the B final, while the mens four coxless crew made of Dragoş Aicoboae, Adrian Dămii, Marius Cozmiuc and Andrei Gontaru came in 5th in the B final. Also 5th in the B final came in the mens two coxless crew made of Cristi Pîrghie and George Palamariu. Surprisingly enough, the Romanian womens eight with coxswain crew, many a time world and Olympic champion, failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio.

In September 2015, the World Cup in Rugby kick-started in England. New Zealand won the final tournament, while in Group D Romania lost the fixtures against France, Ireland and Italy, wining the game against Canada.

In late September, the European table tennis championships were held in Russias city of Ekaterinburg. For Romania, Elizabeta Samara won gold in the womens singles, silver in the womens doubles, pairing up with Hungarys Georgina Pota. In the nations competition, Romania walked away with silver.

In October, the World Gymnastics Championships were held in the Scottish city of Glasgow. Sadly, it was Romanian gymnastics least satisfactory run in the last 40 years. The womens team was ranked 13th, and missed the opportunity to earn a position among the worlds top eight teams that took part in the World Championships finals, also failing to qualify to the 2016 edition of the Olympic Games in Rio. The same happened to the mens team, which was ranked 14th after the qualifying rounds. However, in the individual all-round event, Larisa Iordache won the silver medal, while in the mens vault event, 35-year old Marian Dragulescu also won silver.

In November, Romania won 6 medals at the European Aerobic Gymnastics Championships in Elvas, Portugal, of which 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze. In womens handball, in November two Romanian teams qualified for the Champions Leagues main round, CSM Bucharest and HCM Baia Mare. Also in November, the Champions Tournament in London saw one Romanian tennis player winning the doubles competition. In the final, Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer outperformed the pair made up of another Romanian, Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna of India, 6-4, 6-3.

December 2015 was an auspicious month for Romanias womens handball team. At the World Championship held in Denmark, Romania walked away with bronze, having trounced Poland in a fixture for the 3rd place, 31-22. Cristina Neagus record of 63 goals earned the Romanian athlete the title of the Championships most efficient scorer. In the final, Neagu was also declared the competitions best handballer.