The Romanian women\u2019s table tennis team scooped bronze at the World Championships in London late last week. Represented by Bernadette Sz\u0151cs, Elizabeta Samara, Andreea Dragoman, Adina Diaconu and Elena Zaharia, the Romanian team achieved a performance unseen in the new millennium. Our players last stood on a world podium in 2000, in Kuala Lumpur, where they also won bronze.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This time in London, Romania reached the knockout stage after finishing second in Group 1. The team lost to China, the reigning world and Olympic champions, but overcame the formidable teams of South Korea and Taiwan. Those victories against the Asian teams, both of which were quarter-finalists at the Worlds two years ago, were spectacular. After a hard-fought 3-2 win over South Korea, the Romanians defeated Taiwan 3-1.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A 3-0 sweep against the Netherlands in the round of 32 followed. In the round of 16, Romania grabbed a tough but well-deserved 3-2 win over Egypt. A 3-1 quarter-final win against France propelled Romania into the semi-finals. However, they then met China, the world\u2019s dominant force for years. Despite their defeat, the Romanians secured the bronze medals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Parallel to the World Championships in London, Elizabeta Samara has been elected to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Athletes’ Commission. Out of the eight elected members, Samara received the highest number of votes, 278, tying with England\u2019s Paul Drinkhall. For her success at the World Championships and her election to the international federation\u2019s top athletic structure, Radio Romania International has designated Elizabeta Samara Athlete of the Week.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Elizabeta Samara was born April 15, 1989, in Constan\u021ba. She achieved her first major milestone in 2005, winning team gold at the European Championships in Aarhus alongside teammates like Otilia B\u0103descu and Mihaela \u0218teff. In total, Samara has secured three European team titles for Romania. Her European track record also includes two gold medals in doubles and two in mixed doubles. In 2015, in Yekaterinburg, she was crowned European singles champion. Her career-high world ranking came in 2014, when she reached number 13; she currently sits at number 38. (VP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Romanian women\u2019s table tennis team scooped bronze at the World Championships in London late last week. Represented by Bernadette Sz\u0151cs, Elizabeta Samara, Andreea Dragoman, Adina Diaconu and Elena Zaharia, the Romanian team achieved a performance unseen in the new millennium. Our players last stood on a world podium in 2000, in Kuala Lumpur, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":121870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40940],"tags":[33483,190646],"coauthors":[113302],"class_list":["post-1016366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-elizabeta-samara","tag-romanian-table-tennis-team"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n