Sports Weekend

Florin Orban, 22.02.2019, 13:18

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has been edged out of
the tournament in Dubai. Halep sustained a three-set defeat by Swiss challenger
Belinda Bencic. In the first set, Bencic had a 2-nil lead, but Halep braced up
and won the set, 6-4. In the second set, Bencic won a break, but Halep was
quick to level up. The match was a balanced one as the score turned 4-all, yet
Bencic came back and won, 6-4. In the third set, Halep went three games down,
then came from behind and won two games in a row, but Bencic was unstoppable
and won the decisive set, 6-2. Also in Dubai, in the quarterfinals of the
women’s doubles, Raluca Olaru and Croatia’s Darija Jurak sustained a 4-6, 5-7
defeat by the all-Taiwanese pair made of Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan.

We carry on with news from handball. Romanian national
squad’s and CSM Bucharest’s left back handballer Cristina Neagu has received a nomination
for the world’s best handballer title in 2018, by the International Handball Federation.
In 2018, Neagu was the best scorer in the history of the European
Championships, with a record of 237 goals scored. However, a serious left-knee
injury prevented Neagu from being on the pitch in Romania’s last two fixtures
at the EURO 2018. We recall that Cristina Neagu was designated the world’s best
handballer in 2010, 2015 and 2016.

The Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest on Saturday
faces Hungarian opponents Győr
at home, in a fixture counting towards the Champions League’s main Group 2. In
the as-it-stands table, CSM are 2nd-placed in the group with 10
points, while Gyor has the lead, with 13 points. We recall that in January in
Gyor, the Hungarian side had no problem securing a 36-27 win against CSM
Bucharest.

We go out with news from football, as this coming weekend
sees matches being played, counting towards the domestic championship’s 25th
round, actually the last-but-one round of the main season. On Friday, Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe takes on Viitorul Constanta. On Saturday, Astra Giurgiu
receives the visit of FC Hermannstadt from Sibiu, while Poli Iasi faces CFR
Cluj, on home soil. On Sunday, in the southern Romanian town of Calarasi, the
local side Dunarea plays Dinamo Bucharest, then on home turf, FC Botosani are
pitted against Gaz Metan Medias. The derby of the 25th round sees
FCSB facing Universitatea Craiova on National Arena stadium in Bucharest. In
the last game of round 25, Concordia Chiajna faces FC Voluntari. CFR Cluj have
the lead in the table, with 48 points. Then with 45 points, Craiova and FCSB
are second and third-placed, respectively.