Maria Alexandru

Maria Alexandru (* 30th December 1939 in Plugova as Maria Golopenta ) is a former Romanian table tennis player . Between 1953 and 1980 she won several titles at European and World Championships.

Success in Eastern Europe

From 1962 to 1979 she won the Romanian championship 15 times in singles and 16 times in doubles (with the following partners: once Georgita Pitica , three times Ella Zeller-Constantinescu , three times Eleonora Vlaicov , once Magdalena Leszay , twice Carmen Crișan , three times Viorica Moldovan and three times Liana Mihuț ).

At the Balkan Championships she was represented 14 times between 1963 and 1979. She was eight times winner in singles, five times she finished 2. In doubles she won 11 titles, twice she lost in the final. Her mixed record was seven wins and four runners-up. In addition, there were 13 first places with the Romanian team.

European tournaments

In 1956 and 1958 she took part in the European Youth Championship. Here she won the title in singles, doubles and with the team every time, and in 1958 in mixed competition.

In the adult category, she was represented ten times at European championships . In 1966 she was European champion in singles in London (before Swetlana Grinberg ), in 1976 she reached the final. In doubles, she won the title in 1960 (with Angelica Rozeanu ) and 1978 (with Liana Mihuț ), in 1974 and 1980 she came in second. In 1960 she still won the mixed (with Gheorghe Cobirzan ).

She was nominated seven times for the European ranking tournament Europe TOP-12 between 1972 and 1979. She took second place in 1972 (behind Beatrix Kisházi ), 1974 (behind Soja Rudnowa ) and 1979 (behind Gabriella Szabó ).

World championships

She represented Romania at world championships twelve times , for the first time in 1953 in Bucharest, and for the last time when she was almost 39 years old in 1979 in Pyongyang. Here she was three times world champion in doubles: 1961 with Georgita Pitica, 1973 with Miho Hamada (Japan) and 1975 with Shoko Takahashi (Japan). She won the vice world championship in 1963 in singles, in 1969 in doubles with Eleonora Vlaicov and in 1971 in mixed with Antun Stipančić .

End of career

In 1980 she ended her international career. This year she was signed to Germany by VSC Donauwörth for the women's Bundesliga . At the end of the 1980/81 season she went back to Romania.

Results from the ITTF database

Association	event	year	place	country	singles	Double	Mixed	team
ROU	Balkan Championship	1979	Athens	GRE	silver			1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1978	Nis	YUG	gold	gold		1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1977	Brasov	ROU	gold	silver		1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1976	Samsun	DOOR	silver	gold	gold	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1974	Athens	GRE		silver	gold
ROU	Balkan Championship	1972	Ankara	DOOR	gold	gold	gold	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1971	Brasov	ROU	gold	gold	gold	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1970	Sofia	BUL	gold	gold	gold	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1968	Skopje	YUG	silver	gold	silver	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1967	Antalya	DOOR	gold	gold		1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1966	Brasov	ROU	silver	gold	silver	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1965	Sofia	BUL	gold	gold	gold	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1964	Athens	GRE	silver	gold	silver	1
ROU	Balkan Championship	1963	Athens	GRE	gold	gold	silver	1
ROU	European Championship	1980	Bern	SUI	last 16	silver
ROU	European Championship	1978	Duisburg	FRG	last 16	gold
ROU	European Championship	1976	Prague	TCH	silver
ROU	European Championship	1974	Novi Sad	YUG		silver	Semifinals
ROU	European Championship	1972	Rotterdam	NED	Semifinals	Semifinals	Quarter finals
ROU	European Championship	1970	Moscow	URS	Semifinals	Semifinals
ROU	European Championship	1968	Lyon	FRA		Semifinals	silver
ROU	European Championship	1966	London	CLOSELY	gold	Quarter finals	Semifinals
ROU	European Championship	1964	Malmo	SWE	last 16	silver	Quarter finals
ROU	European Championship	1960	Zagreb	YUG	last 16	gold	gold
ROU	European Youth Championship (Juniors)	1958	Falkenberg	SWE	gold	gold	gold	1
ROU	European Youth Championship (Juniors)	1956	Opatija	YUG	gold	gold		1
ROU	EURO TOP12	1979	Kristianstad	SWE	2
ROU	EURO TOP12	1977	Sarajevo	YUG	4th
ROU	EURO TOP12	1976	Lübeck	FRG	5
ROU	EURO TOP12	1975	Vienna	AUT	4th
ROU	EURO TOP12	1974	Trollhatten	SWE	2
ROU	EURO TOP12	1973	Boeblingen	FRG	5
ROU	EURO TOP12	1972	Zagreb	YUG	2
ROU	World Championship	1979	Pyongyang	PRK	last 32	last 16	last 32	10
ROU	World Championship	1977	Birmingham	CLOSELY	last 16	last 16	no participants	13
ROU	World Championship	1975	Calcutta	IND	Quarter finals	gold	no participants	9
ROU	World Championship	1973	Sarajevo	YUG	last 16	gold	Quarter finals	6th
ROU	World Championship	1971	Nagoya	JPN	last 16	last 16	silver	6th
ROU	World Championship	1969	Munich	FRG	Semifinals	silver	last 32	2
ROU	World Championship	1967	Stockholm	SWE	Quarter finals	last 16	Semifinals	6th
ROU	World Championship	1965	Ljubljana	YUG	Quarter finals	Quarter finals	last 16	4th
ROU	World Championship	1963	Prague	TCH	silver	Quarter finals	last 32	2
ROU	World Championship	1961	Beijing	CHN	last 16	gold	last 32	3
ROU	World Championship	1957	Stockholm	SWE	last 16	Semifinals	last 64	2
ROU	World Championship	1953	Bucharest	ROU	last 64	last 16	Scratched

literature

• Uwe Freise: Why should I stop? , DTS magazine 1978/7 page 15
• Ella Constantinescu: At 38 years old still one of the best , DTS magazine 1978/10 pages 15–16

Web links

• Anonimatul, drama unei sportive de top , interview by Daniela Ionescu with Maria Alexandru from January 20, 2011 in Romania Libera, accessed October 2, 2015 (Romanian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DTS magazine , 1980/13 page 5.
2. ↑ DTS magazine , 1981/12 page 8.
3. ^ Maria Alexandru Results from the ITTF database on ittf.com (accessed September 3, 2011).