Team Romania has rough start at the Rio Olympics

Team Romania has had a rough start at the 2016 Rio Olympics as the Romanian athletes who were considered among the favorites to get medals have recorded poor performances. Romania has zero medals after the first four days of the games. The women’s handball team, who finished third at the world championship in December 2015, had a disappointing start in Rio. The team managed by Dane Tomas Ryde and led on court by star Cristina Neagu (opening photo), the best handball player in the world in 2015, lost their first two matches against Angola (19-23) and hosts Brazil (13-26), and has little chances of qualifying to the quarter finals. The Romanians must win all their next three matches, against Spain, Montenegro, and world champions Norway, to stay on track to the Olympic medals. Shooter Alin Moldoveanu, who won the Olympic gold medal in London, in 2012, failed to qualify to the final of the men’s 10m air rifle competition. He finished 19th in the qualification round. Romania has also had good results in the fencing competition in the past. However, in the women’s individual epee competition, Ana Maria Florentina Popescu finished only 9th while Simona Cristina Gherman finished 19th and Simona Pop finished 33rd. The Romanians still have a chance in the team epee competition. In the rowing competition, only one Romanian team made it to the semifinals: George Alexandru Palamariu and Cristi Ilie Parghie managed to qualify in the men’s coxless pair semifinals. The other teams will have to go through another qualification round. In the table tennis competition, Romania’s Elizabeta Samara and Daniela Dodean were eliminated in the third round in women’s singles. They will try to get a medal as a team. In the men’s competition, Adrian Crisan lost in round 4 while Ovidiu Ionescu fell in round 3. Romanians Irina Begu, Monica Niculescu, and Andreea Mitu were eliminated both in the women’s singles and doubles competitions. Romanian pair Horia Tecau/Florin Mergea have made it to the quarter finals of the men’s doubles competition where they have a difficult match today against Brazilians Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares. The only Romanian women’s gymnast who went to Rio this year, Catalina Ponor, qualified to the beam final with the fifth best score. She still has a chance to get an Olympic medal. She also competed in the women’s floor contest, but was only 14th. Romanian gymnast Marian Dragulescu qualified to the man’s vault final, with the fifth best score. Andrei Muntean also qualified to the men’s parallel bars final after finishing 9th in the qualification round. Romanian swimmer Robert Glinta qualified to the men’s 100m backstroke final, but finished only 8th. Judoka Corina Caprioriu (photo below) has been closest to get an Olympic medal for Romania so far. She finished fourth in the women’s 57kg judo competition, after she lost the bronze medal match to Portugal’s Telma Monteiro. Andreea Stefania Chitu finished 7th in the women’s 52kg judo competition. Rio Olympics 2016: Who represents Romania?