Romania’s women’s youth handball team wins bronze at European Championship

The Romanian women's youth handball national team defeated the Portuguese team with a score of 39-32 (18-13) on Sunday, July 16, securing the bronze medal at the European Championship in Piteşti/Mioveni, Romania.

Matches for the final rankings took place on Sunday as well, with Sweden defeating France 29-25 (5th-6th place) and Switzerland defeating Montenegro 37-32 (7th-8th place).

The Romanian team struggled to qualify for the main groups after finishing second in preliminary Group B, following results of 41-33 against Iceland, 30-36 against Portugal, and 35-30 against Germany, according to G4Media.

In the first match of Group I, the Romanian team triumphed over Sweden with a score of 42-34, and then secured a thrilling victory against Switzerland, winning 41-36 and qualifying for the semifinals. In the penultimate match, the Romanian team lost to Hungary with a score of 26-34.

Romania achieved the European bronze medal 16 years after a similar performance in 2007, when it secured victory against Sweden in the third-place match, and Cristina Neagu became the tournament's second-highest scorer with 54 goals.

“Hosts Romania, the top attack of the competition, had some stellar performances from key players. Right wing Mihaela Mihai, who has already made her debut in the EHF Champions League Women for CSM București, was selected as the All-star right wing. She finished the W19 EHF EURO 2023 with 36 goals, the highest number of goals for a right wing,” wrote the European Handball Federation on its website.

This year Romania hosted a European Championship after 23 years.

(Photo source: FRH on Facebook)