Oana Manea quits Romania's national team
Oana Manea quits Romania's national team
Oana Manea, former captain of the Romanian national women’s handball team, has decided to retire from international handball.
Manea announced her decision prior to the friendly game between Romania and Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea, which was played last Thursday (24 January) and ended with a 37:22-win for Oltchim.
After 161 matches and 332 goals for Romania, 27-year-old Manea decided to put an end to her international career, stating that personal reasons were behind her decision.
She was replaced in November by Cristina Neagu as the team captain, after Gheorghe Tadici’s had - once again - taken over as head coach of the Romanian team.
Manea had been a long-time member and one of the stalwarts in the Romanian team, playing at four EHF Euro events (2004, 2008, 2010, 2012) and two World Championships (2009, 2011).
"Hearing about Manea’s decision was sad. It’s surprising that a young player like her would even consider retiring. However, we will try and persuade her to reconsider her decision," said Cristian Gaţu, President of the Romanian Handball Federation to Romanian sports news outlet, ProSport.
"If she doesn’t want to continue in the national team, we’re ready to accept that decision. She wants to call it quits for personal reasons, we will try to understand this if she is able to tell me what’s going on with her," added Gaţu.
Oana Manea will play for Oltchim on Sunday (3 February) in the first match of Women’s EHF Champions League Main Round against FTC Cargo Rail Hungaria.
