Sports Roundup
Universitatea Craiova clinch top spot in Romanian Super League
Florin Orban, 09.03.2026, 13:45
Romania’s women’s handball team delivered a commanding performance in Bistrița on Sunday, defeating Slovakia 32–19. The match was a key fixture in Group A of the EHF EURO Cup 2026 qualifiers. Sorina Grozav led the scoring for the Romanian side with seven goals. In the group’s other Saturday fixture, Norway cruised to a 32–16 victory over Poland. Norway currently leads the standings with 8 points, followed by Romania on 6, Poland with 2, and Slovakia yet to get off the mark. The final qualifying matches are set for next month: Romania will host Norway in Bucharest on April 8, before traveling to Radom to face Poland on April 12. The top two teams will secure their spots in the final tournament. This competition is reserved for the five host nations of this year’s European Championship—Poland, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, and Turkey—who are exempt from the standard EURO 2026 qualifiers, joined here by Norway, Denmark and Hungary.
In rugby, Romania sustained a 53–30 defeat at the hands of Georgia in Tbilisi on Sunday. Despite the scoreline, the “Oaks” put in their strongest performance of the 2026 Rugby Europe Championship, crossing for three tries. Captain Cristi Boboc of Steaua Bucharest scored twice, while Damian Bonaparte, the South African-born Dinamo player, added a third. Romania will now head to Madrid this weekend to face Spain in the third-place play-off of the Championship.
Romanian representation at the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells has come to an end. In the third round of the $9.4 million tournament, world number one and top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jaqueline Cristian 6–4, 6–1. Meanwhile, 14th seed Linda Nosková of Czechia fought back to overcome Sorana Cîrstea 6–7, 6–4, 6–4. For their efforts in California, both Cîrstea and Cristian will take home nearly $62,000 and 65 WTA points.
Universitatea Craiova have finished the regular season of the Romanian Superliga in first place. In Sunday’s marquee “derby” of the 30th and final round, the Oltenians played out a 1–1 draw in Bucharest against second-placed Rapid. Elsewhere in the final round, Csikszereda secured a 1–0 home win over Farul Constanța in Miercurea Ciuc on Friday. On Saturday, Metaloglobus Bucharest and UTA Arad drew 2–2 in Clinceni. Petrolul Ploiești earned a 1–0 away win at FC Botoșani, and Universitatea Cluj claimed a 3–1 victory against FCSB in Bucharest. On Sunday, Hermannstadt defeated Oțelul 2–0 in Galați, while FC Argeș and Unirea Slobozia played to a goalless draw in Mioveni. On Monday, CFR CLuj face Dinamo Bucharest at home.
Joining Craiova in the Championship play-offs are Rapid, Dinamo, both Cluj sides (CFR and Universitatea), and FC Argeș. Notably, defending champions FCSB will compete in the relegation play-out phase after finishing 7th, four points behind the play-off spots. (VP)
