Sports Roundup

Florin Orban, 27.07.2020, 11:45

Romania’s rally
champion Simone Tempestini on Sunday finished the Rome Rally in 5th
position, at the end of the first round of the European Rally Championship. The
Italian-born Romanian raced together with Sergiu Itu on a Skoda Fabia R5. The
Rome Rally totaled 15 heats, with a total length of 197 kilometers, adding to
which was an intermediary length of 800 kilometers, where any delay resulted in
added penalty time.

Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep, world no. 2, announced her withdrawal from the WTA
tournament in Palermo, Italy, in the wake of quarantine measures Italy has
imposed on arrivals from Romania and Bulgaria. Given the recent rise in
Covid19 cases in Romania and my anxieties around international air travel at
this time, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Palermo, the
Romanian posted on her Twitter account. The tournament is set to kick off on
August 3, the first to be held after the hiatus caused by the coronavirus
lockdown. Its organizers had specifically called for a derogation for Simona,
demanding she be exempt from quarantine measures in force.

This weekend saw
a new round in the domestic football championship. In Group 1, FCSB won 1-nil
away from home against Gaz Metan Medias. On Tuesday, CFR Cluj will play FC
Botosani, while on Wednesday Astra Giurgiu will take on Universitatea Craiova.
In Group 2, on Friday, Viitorul Constanta won 4-1 against Chindia Targoviste.
On Sunday, in Clinceni, Academica won 3-nil against Politehnica Iasi, while FC
Voluntari won 2-nil against Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. Chindia and Dinamo hold the
last two positions, which will relegate into the second league. Poli Iasi will
play a playoff match to decide whether the team remains in the first league,
although Dinamo Bucharest is four matches down. Universitatea Craiova is top of
the league tables.

(Translated by
V. Palcu)