Sports flash

Florin Orban, 03.02.2022, 12:57

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic
Games is scheduled this coming Friday. A 22-strong Romanian delegation will compete
in the Olympics, with 8 women athletes and 14 men athletes vying for medals. Luge,
bobsleigh, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, biathlon and speed
skating are the competing disciplines. However, the head-coach of the Olympic luge
team, Ioan Apostol, is Covid-19-infected, according to an announcement made by
the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. The Romanian sports body added the
Romanian head-coach would stay in isolation, in keeping with the Games Organizing
Committee’s system of regulations. All participants in the Winter Olympics are being
tested daily.

The Romanian Sports Minister Eduard Novak has stated the
Gymnastics and Athletics federations have climbed 9 and 10 notches down, respectively,
following a classification compiled according to a state-budget form of financing earmarked for the two federations. The causes of that are the poor results Romanian gymnasts and athletes have had
in recent years. The parameters that were taken into account for the
classification were the 2021 results in international competitions, that is
world, European cups, world and European championships, seniors’, Under-21 versions
of competitions, as well as the number of medals. Minister Novak spoke highly
of the rowers, with their 34 medals, and of judokas, with 14 medals. Eduard Novak also mentioned the table tennis players, with their 9 medals. The
Romanian sports minister went on to say, QUOTE, I want us to invest, since 48
of the clubs belong to the Ministry and a mere 12 or 15 gymnastics departments,
which is quite unassuming. I intend to open, in two, maybe three years’ time, 15
or 20 other gymnastics sections. Because gymnastics, just like the winter
sports, is being practiced in certain areas alone. And if we want our
gymnastics to grow on firm grounds, we need to have gymnastics practiced countrywide,
it’s the key to all that, UNQUOTE.

There are a couple of stadiums in Bucharest that have been recently refurbished
to host the teams that will be preparing, in Romania, for EURO 2020. As of late, these stadiums have timidly entered
the competition circuit. On Saturday, the Triumphal Arch Stadium will be
hosting the rugby match pitting the Romanian national team against Russia.
However, the Arena will soon be opened for football competitions as well, yet pending
legal matters are still to be sorted out.

Romanian vice-champions, FCSB, have already made public their intention
to play on the new stadium, which has a seating capacity of 80,000 seats. Rapid
head-coach Mihai Iosif told a press conference that the Giulesti Stadium, on
February 26, could host the Bucharest derby pitting Rapid against Dinamo.
Construction works for the new Giulesti Stadium were completed in late 2021. On
January 4, 2022, Rapid Sports Club officially took over the administration of
the new stadium. The club immediately initiated the procedures to obtain all
official permits for the stadium.

(EN)