Sport in Moldova

Sport in Moldova has reached international levels as individuals compete at the European, World and Olympic levels. Most notably, Moldova has won a range of medals at the European championships in boxing, Judo, weightlifting and wrestling, and also is known for being skilled in soccer as well.

Sports

[edit]

Basketball

[edit]

Moldova has an increasingly successful team at the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. There, Moldova has won two silver medals (in 2008 and 2012) for men and two bronze medals (in 2006 and 2016)[1][2] for women.

The country has a professional basketball league, the Moldovan National Division.[3]

Cycling

[edit]

The most prestigious cycling race is the Moldova President's Cup, which was first run in 2004.

Moldova national football team in 2015

Football

[edit]

Football is the most popular sport in Moldova.

Rugby

[edit]

Rugby union is becoming more popular. Since 2004, the number of players at all levels has doubled to 3,200. Despite the hardships and deprivations the national team are ranked 34th in the world. More than 10,000 supporters turn out for home internationals.[4]

Wrestling

[edit]

Trânta (a form of wrestling) is the national sport in Moldova.

Major achievements by sporting event

[edit]
Moldova at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Olympic Games

[edit]
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Boxing 2000 Summer Olympics Vitalie Gruşac 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Boxing 2008 Summer Olympics Veaceslav Gojan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Canoeing 1996 Summer Olympics Nicolae Juravschi
Viktor Reneysky
2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Shooting 2000 Summer Olympics Oleg Moldovan 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1996 Summer Olympics Sergei Mureiko 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

Paralympic Games

[edit]
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Athletics 1996 Summer Paralympics Nikolai Tchoumak 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Table tennis 1996 Summer Paralympics Vladimir Polkanov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

Youth Olympic Games

[edit]
Alexandrin Guţu
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Boxing 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Daniil Svaresciuc 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Canoeing 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Serghei Tarnovschi 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Wrestling 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Iulia Leorda 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Dmitri Ceacusta 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Tatiano Doncila 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

World Championships

[edit]
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Archery 1993 World Indoor Archery Championships Natalia Valeeva 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Archery 1995 World Archery Championships Natalia Valeeva 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Archery 1995 World Indoor Archery Championships Natalia Valeeva 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Boxing 2001 Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships Irina Smirnova 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Canoeing 1995 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships Nicolae Juravschi
Viktor Reneysky
2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Canoeing 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships Oleg Tarnovschi 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Canoeing 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships Serghei Tarnovschi 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 1997 World Judo Championships Victor Florescu 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Judo 1997 World Judo Championships Victor Bivol 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 2011 World Judo Championships Sergiu Toma 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Swimming 1993 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Serghei Mariniuc 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Taekwondo 2015 World Taekwondo Championships Aaron Cook 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 1995 World Weightlifting Championships Vadim Vacarciuc 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2003 World Weightlifting Championships Vadim Vacarciuc 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2005 World Weightlifting Championships Alexandru Bratan 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1993 World Wrestling Championships Sergei Mureiko 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1994 World Wrestling Championships Lukman Jabrailov 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Wrestling 1994 World Wrestling Championships Victor Peicov 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1995 World Wrestling Championships Sergei Mureiko 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2003 World Wrestling Championships Ghenadie Tulbea 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 World Wrestling Championships Mihai Sava 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

World Games

[edit]
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Dancesport 2013 World Games Gabriele Pasquale Goffredo
Anna Matus
1st place, gold medalist(s)

European Championships

[edit]
Sergiu Toma
Serghei Cechir
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Athletics 1996 European Athletics Indoor Championships Olga Bolşova 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Athletics 2010 European Athletics Championships Ion Luchianov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Biathlon Biathlon European Championships 2008 Natalia Levchenkova 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Boxing 2001 Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships Elena Hadji 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Boxing 2002 European Amateur Boxing Championships Veaceslav Gojan 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Boxing 2002 European Amateur Boxing Championships Igor Samoilenco 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Boxing 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships Alexandr Riscan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Boxing 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships Victor Cotiujanschi 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Boxing 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships Veaceslav Gojan 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Boxing 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships Alexandr Riscan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Boxing 2013 European Amateur Boxing Championships Dmitri Galagot 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Boxing 2013 European Amateur Boxing Championships Petru Ciobanu 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Canoeing 2016 Canoe Sprint European Championships Oleg Tarnovschi 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Canoeing 2016 Canoe Sprint European Championships Serghei Tarnovschi 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Football 2011 EMF miniEURO National team 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Gymnastics 2000 European Trampoline Championships Vladimir Cojoc 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 1993 European Judo Championships Apti Magomadov 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Judo 1993 European Judo Championships Tudor Lazarenko 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 1996 European Judo Championships Oleg Crețul 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Judo 1998 European Judo Championships Andrei Golban 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Judo 1999 European Judo Championships Victor Bivol 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 2001 European Judo Championships Nicolai Belokosov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 2009 European Judo Championships Marcel Trudov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Judo 2011 European Judo Championships Sergiu Toma 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Taekwondo 2010 European Taekwondo Championships Vladislav Arventii 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Taekwondo 2014 European Taekwondo Championships Stepan Dimitrov 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Taekwondo 2014 European Taekwondo Championships Vladislav Arventii 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Taekwondo 2016 European Taekwondo Championships Aaron Cook 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 1994 European Weightlifting Championships Vadim Vacarciuc 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2000 European Weightlifting Championships Vadim Vacarciuc 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2001 European Weightlifting Championships Vladimir Popov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2002 European Weightlifting Championships Igor Grabucea 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2004 European Weightlifting Championships Alexandru Bratan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2006 European Weightlifting Championships Igor Grabucea 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2006 European Weightlifting Championships Alexandru Bratan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2007 European Weightlifting Championships Igor Bour 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2007 European Weightlifting Championships Eugen Bratan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2007 European Weightlifting Championships Igor Grabucea 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2009 European Weightlifting Championships Cristina Iovu 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2009 European Weightlifting Championships Igor Grabucea 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2011 European Weightlifting Championships Oleg Sîrghi 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2011 European Weightlifting Championships Anatolie Cîrîcu 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2012 European Weightlifting Championships Anatolie Cîrîcu 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2012 European Weightlifting Championships Cristina Iovu 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2012 European Weightlifting Championships Oleg Sîrghi 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2012 European Weightlifting Championships Serghei Cechir 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2012 European Weightlifting Championships Alexandru Spac 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2013 European Weightlifting Championships Oleg Sîrghi 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2013 European Weightlifting Championships Alexandru Spac 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2013 European Weightlifting Championships Igor Bour 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2014 European Weightlifting Championships Serghei Cechir 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2015 European Weightlifting Championships Oleg Sîrghi 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2015 European Weightlifting Championships Alexandru Dudoglo 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2015 European Weightlifting Championships Andrian Zbirnea 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Weightlifting 2016 European Weightlifting Championships Iurie Dudoglo 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 1993 European Wrestling Championships Oleg Tokarev 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1993 European Wrestling Championships Victor Peicov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 1993 European Wrestling Championships Sergei Mureiko 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 1994 European Wrestling Championships Lukman Jabrailov 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1995 European Wrestling Championships Sergei Mureiko 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 1996 European Wrestling Championships Igor Grabovetchi 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 1996 European Wrestling Championships Sergei Mureiko 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2001 European Wrestling Championships Ghenadie Tulbea 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Wrestling 2002 European Wrestling Championships Ghenadie Tulbea 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2005 European Wrestling Championships Ghenadie Tulbea 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Wrestling 2006 European Wrestling Championships Ludmila Cristea 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2010 European Wrestling Championships Andrei Perpeliță 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2011 European Wrestling Championships Ludmila Cristea 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2011 European Wrestling Championships Natalia Budu 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2011 European Wrestling Championships Nicolae Ceban 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2012 European Wrestling Championships Ludmila Cristea 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 European Wrestling Championships Victor Ciobanu 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 European Wrestling Championships Andrei Perpeliță 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 European Wrestling Championships Nicolae Ceban 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2014 European Wrestling Championships Natalia Budu 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2016 European Wrestling Championships Donior Islamov 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2017 European Wrestling Championships Andrei Perpeliță 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

European Games

[edit]
Svetlana Saenko
Sport Event Athlete(s) Result
Wrestling 2015 European Games Piotr Ianulov 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Wrestling 2015 European Games Svetlana Saenko 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Wrestling 2015 European Games Alexandru Chirtoaca 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2006 European Promotion Cup for Women. 18 to 23 Jul. 2006 - Ta' Qali in Malta".
  2. ^ "2016 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries. 28 Jun. to 3 Jul. 2016 - Gibraltar in Gibraltar".
  3. ^ "Indian cager Ulhas KS to set to play in Moldovan National League". sportscafe.in. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  4. ^ Souster, Mark (Oct 27, 2012). "Europe's poor relations show richness of spirit; Mark Souster visits Moldova and discovers a wealth of ambition at all levels in one of the game's new frontiers". The Times (London, England).
[edit]