The Romanian team also competes in the Balkan Badminton Championships along with other Balkan countries. The team has had multiple runners-up finishes at the Balkan mixed team championships. Romanian badminton made one of its first international presences when national player Florin Balaban competed in men's singles at the 1992 Summer Olympics.[2]
The Romanian junior team were runners-up at the 2000 Finlandia Cup in Pressbaum, Austria.[3]
History
Badminton first reached Romania in 1958 when the sport was played in university sporting events.[4]
Badminton competitions in Romania were first hosted in December 1975, with the first badminton competition titled the 30 December Cup (Romanian: Cupa 30 Decembrie) organized in the city of Târgu Mureș by the Pioneer Organization and the Mureș County Council. In 1977, the competition was later renamed the Mureș Cup. Badminton then gained minuscule popularity when counties from around the country started to compete in the competition.[5]
Romania first competed in the 1997 Balkan Badminton Team Championships. The mixed team finished as runners-up after losing the match for first place 5–0 to Bulgaria in the round-robin competition.[8][9] The team competed in the 2003 Helvetia Cup and finished in 17th place.[10] In 2007, the team competed in the 2007 Helvetia Cup. The team finished second in their group after defeating Wales and Luxembourg in the group tie.[11] They then defeated Belgium 3–2 and finished in 7th place.[12] In 2008, the team lost in the finals of the 2008 Balkan Team Championships to rivals Bulgaria.[13] In 2010, the mixed team finished in third place after winning 3–2 against Moldova at the 2010 Balkan Badminton Team Championships.[14][15]
