Sports weekend
The latest from tennis, men's handball and football
Florin Orban, 10.03.2023, 13:45
The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea has
qualified to the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament of Indian Wells, an
event with 8,8 million USD in prize money. In the first round on Thursday evening, Cirstea defeated Australia’s Kimberly Birrell, 6-3, 6-2. WTA 83rd-placed
Cirstea will next take on WTA 20th-placed, the American Madison Keys.
In Bucharest on Saturday, Romania’s men’s national
handball team play the Faeroe Islands team. The fixture counts towards the 4th
group stage as part of the preliminaries of the European Championship, scheduled in
2024. Austria is at the top of the as-it-stands table, with 6 points
in 3 games played. With two points each but with a different goal average,
following in descending order are the teams of Romania, Faeroe Islands and
Ukraine, with one win and two defeats each. The first two teams in each of the eight
preliminary groups secure their ticket to the final tournament, alongside the
best 3rd-placed four teams. The European Men’s Handball Championship
will be held in Germany over January
10 and 28, 2024.
In news from football, this coming weekend will
see matches being played, counting towards the 30th and the last round as
part of the Romanian Super League’s regular season. On Friday, FC Botosani faces Dacia Mioveni, while
Universitatea Craiova goes against UTA Arad. On Saturday, FC Argeş receives the visit of Petrolul Ploieşti, while Rapid
Bucureşti travels to Ovidiu, in the south-east, for a match against Farul
Constanţa. In Bucharest on Sunday, FCSB goes against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe,
while in Sibiu, FC Hermannstadt takes on FC U Craiova. In Ploiesti on Monday, Chindia
Târgovişte faces FC Voluntari. The 30th round’s closing game is also the Cluj derby,
pitting CFR against Universitatea. The fixture will be hosted by holders CFR’s
stadium. Ahead of the 30th round, Farul is at the top of the table
with 61 points. Following are CFR,
with 60, FCSB, with 54, Rapid, with 52, and Universitatea Craiova, with 51 points.
All these teams have secured, mathematically, their qualification to Group 1. Fighting
for the sixth place among the upper-echelon teams are Sepsi
Sfântu Gheorghe and FC U Craiova. The other Super league teams will compete in Group
2, in a bid to avoid relegation to the second League.(EN)
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