Top-seed Gallovits took advantage in the quarter-finals by the fact that Christina McHale (U.S.) abandoned the game at 4-3, and she beat in the semifinals 7th-seed Alexa Glatch (U.S.) 6-4, 6-1.

In women’s doubles, Gallovits and Ditty reached the semifinals, having been defeated by Christina Fusano U.S.)/Alexa Glatch (U.S.) 7-5, 6-0.
This was Gallovits’s second consecutive victory in a tournament after the 50,000-dollar competition in Auburn, Alabama (U.S.), where she defeated Julie Ditty in the final 6-0, 6-7 (7), 7-5. AGERPRES

At the end of the game Victor Piturca, the coach of the national team, expressed his pleasure with the result, pointing out that he would have liked to see the team score more. ‘During the game against Lithuania we had a lot of injured players too. Several other players have been injured since then, but the guys that were on the pitch today played a good, beautiful, spectacular game, with good passes. Too bad we did not manage to score more,’ Piturca stated.

The coach pointed out that it was very hard for him to improve the morale of the players after the 3-0 loss in the game against Lithuania. ‘It was a terrible situation, but I think the guys surpassed that moment, we have set on a new path after this victory, despite the fact that it was a victory against a smaller team. The three points are what matters. We also wait for the results of the other group games and we look forward to next month’s crucial game against France.’ Piturca expressed his concern that Mirel Radoi could have a torn muscle. ‘It would be serious because his club would no longer be able to use him in the important games that it is set to play, nor could the national team do so in the game against France,’ Piturca stated. Radoi has left the pitch injured in the 18th minute, being substituted by Sorin Ghionea.

Piturca pointed out that he knows nothing about Adrian Mutu’s refusal to play for the national team as long as he is the coach. ‘I don’t think that could happen. I don’t see the reason. If a player doesn’t like me he could say it and that’s that, but these are artificial problems. I have a very good relationship with the players, they’re professionals, I lead the destinies of the national team and after all I am the one that came and qualified the team for a final tournament after 6 years, that is the truth and nobody can take that away from me,’ Piturca added.

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The draw was attended by a host of soccer legends and current stars, including Eusebio, Bobby Charlton, Zinedine Zidane, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Zenit, the current UEFA Cup holders, are making their debut in Europe’s most prestigious club competition, while BATE are the first Belarusian side to appear in the Champions League group stages.

The first round of matches will be played on 16/17 September.

The Russian champions face Manchester United in the Super Cup in Monaco on Friday, the annual money-spinner between the Champions League and UEFA Cup holders. Manchester United were drawn in Group E with Scottish champions Celtic, Spain’s Villarreal, and Danish side Aalborg.

In other Russian soccer news, FC Moskva defeated Legiya Warsaw 2-0 in Moscow, 3-0 on aggregate, on Wednesday to make the first round of the UEFA Cup.

2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage

Group A

Chelsea FC (ENG)

AS Roma (ITA)

FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA)

CFR 1907 Cluj (ROM)

Group B

FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)

Werder Bremen (GER)

Panathinaikos FC (GRE)

Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP)

Group C

FC Barcelona (SPA)

Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

FC Basel 1893 (SUI)

FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

Group D

Liverpool FC (ENG)

PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Olympique de Marseille (FRA)

Club Atletico de Madrid (SPA)

Group E

Manchester United FC (ENG, holders)

Villarreal CF (SPA)

Celtic FC (SCO)

Aalborg BK (DEN)

Group F

Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)

FC Bayern Munchen (GER)

FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROM)

ACF Fiorentina (ITA)

Group G

Arsenal FC (ENG)

FC Porto (POR)

Fenerbahce SK (TUR)

FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

Group H

Real Madrid CF (SPA)

Juventus (ITA)

FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)

FC BATE Borisov (BLR)

The only goal of the fixture was scored by Banel Nicolita, in minute 57. The first leg played in Istanbul ended in a 2-2- draw.

Steaua has thus managed to advance to the Champions League group stage for the third consecutive time.

The group stage fixtures will be decided on Thursday night, at a draw in Monte Carlo. AGERPRES

Andrunache and Susanu had a very good race, which they led after 500 meters to win by a wide margin.

The silver medal was won by China in 7:22.38 and the bronze by Belarus in 7:22.91.

The first gold medal of Romania at the Beijing Olympics was won by judoka Alina Dumitru on Aug. 9. AGERPRES

Camelia Potec also ranked fourth in 800 m freestyle competition, with 8 min 17 sec 08/100. ROMPRES

Romania’s team came first with a combined total of 181.525 points and was followed by Russia, 197.475, and France, 177.175. The other places were taken by Italy, 4th, Ukraine, 5th, Great Britain, 6th, Germany, 7th, and the Netherlands, 8th.

Romania’s team got the highest marks in vaults, 44.050, beam, 46.450, and floor, 45.950, whereas in parallel bars it had the 3rd highest mark in the competition, 45.975.

It is the first gold medal won by the Romanian women’s gymnastics after the 2006 European championships at Volos when Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izbasa came off with flying colours in the beam and floor events and the first for teams after the 2004 Olympic Games. ROMPRES

In round two, Gallovits will play vs. Jelena Jankovic, from Serbia, seeded third, who qualified after having beaten Tamira Paszek, from Austria, 2-6, 6-2, 12-10.

Andrei Pavel and Victor Hanescu were beaten in the first round of the competition, Pavel by Russian Igor Andreev (seeded 31st), in four sets, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and Hanescu by Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu (seeded 23rd), in three sets, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2). ROMPRES

Gabi Nicolae, 33, national off-road champion, has worked for three years on the Team Dakar Romania project, which will materialize in the first Romanian presence in the famous Paris-Dakar Rally.

In a press conference occasioned by the team’s departure for the 5 January 2008 start in Portugal, the racing car and the technical assistance one, also a Mitsubishi L200, were presented. The drivers will be accompanied by mechanics Claudiu Muresan and Sorin Oncioiu, and journalist Mihai Deobald.

Dorin Marian, the head of Prime Minister’s Chancellery, offered Gabi Nicolae a national flag to wave when he crosses the finishing line at. ”On behalf of Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu I wish you success, to leave a good impression and return home safely”.

Gabi Nicolae, who is also the manager of Team Dakar Romania, explained this project started three years ago. ‘Our target is to make the first professional rally-raid team in Romania. We want to go not only to this edition of the Dakar rally, and we want to participate in the long term in every international rally-raid competition”.

The two cars will be sent to Lisbon on 22 December, with the drivers and mechanics to leave for the destination on 27 December. The start will take place on 5 January. Team Dakar Romania received in July 2007 the go-ahead for the participation in the 2008 edition of the said rally. The two drivers participated in the training sessions at Paris, initiated by ASO, the firm that organizes the Paris-Dakar Rally.

After this match, Romania held the first place in M2 Group. Germany will play in the quarterfinals with Angola.

The members of Romania’s team were: Lumini?a Dinu, Tereza Pâslaru, Talida Tolnai – goalkeepers, Ramona Maier (5 goals), Raluca Ivan, Adriana Nechita-Olteanu (4), Cristina Neagu (4), Aurelia Br?deanu (1), Ionela Gâlc?-Stanca (8), Clara V?dineanu (2), Stelu?a Luca (1), Adina Meiro?u (6), Valeria Be?e, Narcisa Lecu?anu (1). Coach: Gheorghe Tadici. ROMPRES