Sport 2025: Moldova is not on the periphery

After 2024, when Moldovan athletes won a record number of medals at international competitions (731), a decline in activity was expected. The exact number of medals won this year has not yet been made public, but last year’s record is likely to hold.

Last year’s successes have prompted the government to significantly increase financial support for athletes. On January 1, 2026, a new regulation will come into effect that will increase bonuses to athletes for their achievements and revise the way the budget is used to support sports. From now on, Moldovan athletes will receive 400,000 lei instead of the current 120,000 lei for winning at the Olympic Games, while a gold medal at the World and European Championships will bring its holder a bonus of 200,000 lei.

Also, the amount of sports scholarships was increased, the recipients of which next year, for the first time, will be juniors (13-15 years old) and young athletes aged between 21 and 23. The minimum monthly stipend will amount to 4,025 lei, while the maximum one, awarded to the winners of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, will reach 80,500 lei. The state budget will allocate 59.133 million lei for their payment, which is 25 per cent more than this year (47 million lei).

The wrestlers traditionally performed well. At the world championship among adults in Zagreb (Croatia), Greco-Roman wrestler Vitalii Jeromenko and world champion and two-time European champion Irina Ryngach climbed the podium. They also took prizes at the continental championship in Bratislava (Slovakia), along with Mariana Dragutan, Artem Deleanu, Alexander Solovei and Victor Ciobanu. Freestyle wrestlers managed to win medals only in youth and junior tournaments.

The passing year will be remembered by holding a number of significant competitions in Moldova. In April, for the first time in its history, Moldova hosted the European Weightlifting Championship, which brought together more than 300 athletes from 42 countries. The European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) highly appreciated the level of organization of the Youth Championships in 2023 and preferred Moldova to two other candidates – Georgia and Albania. The tournament was held at the Chișinău Arena for nine days and was highly appreciated by the professional community.

A total of 14 million lei was allocated for the organization of the tournament, of which 6.5 million lei was provided by the government and the remaining amount by the Moldovan Weightlifting Federation, sponsors, partners and municipal authorities. EWF, in its turn, provided all the necessary technical support.

A significant event for Moldovan sport took place at the championship: for the first time in 10 years the title of absolute European champion went to a representative of our country – Elena Erygina (Kilchik), a native of ATU Gagauzia, became the best in both snatch and jerk in the weight category up to 81 kg. In total, the Moldovan team won 13 medals – four gold, four silver and five bronze (see table).

The leader of the men’s national team, Marin Rob, did not reach the top step of the podium in the overall standings. He won a small gold medal in the snatch and was silver medalist in the snatch. But at the World Championships in Førde (Norway), Robu became the only representative of Moldova and won three silver medals.

For the first time our country also hosted an international tennis tournament under the aegis of ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) – “Moldova Open 2025” from the series “Challenger 50”. Moldovan tennis players Radu Albot, Ilia Snitariu and Andrei Gorban did not manage to please their fans by being among the winners, but the very fact of holding a professional tournament in our country testifies to the growing interest of the local public to the elite sport.

The lack of noticeable progress of local athletes is due to a number of reasons. These include, according to Ilya Snitsar in an interview with LP, “the lack of qualified coaches who could give tennis players the base they need to advance in their careers, insufficient competition, and the absence of full-fledged tennis complexes with both fitness and tennis coaches”.

In tournaments under the auspices of the ITF (International Tennis Federation), Snitsar has won three of them: two in doubles (with Franco Roncadelli of Uruguay) and one in singles. All tournaments were held in Romania during the summer. Toward the end of the year, a reason for pride appeared in the USA, where Abigail Rencheli, paired with Ingrid Neil from Estonia, won the tournament in Daytona Beach and thus won the tenth trophy in her career.

In the fall, Chișinău Arena hosted the European Youth Judo Championships, which was attended by more than 300 athletes from 37 countries. The tournament was financed with 6 million lei from the state budget. Maxim Latyshev was the only Moldovan athlete who reached the podium. The athlete won a silver medal in the weight category up to 90 kg.

Adil Osmanov, bronze medalist of the 2024 Olympic Games, won a gold medal in the 73 kg weight category at the judo tournament of the 32nd Summer Universiade held in Germany this summer. Vadim Gimbovsky came third in the 90 kg category at the European Under-21 Championships held in Bratislava.

The European Kettlebell Lifting Championship was held at a high level in the Moldovan capital, bringing the hosts more than 40 medals in different age categories. Among professionals (athletes who lift weights of 32 kg – author’s note), a native of Cotovskoe village (ATU Gagauzia), Nicolae Frangou, who defended the title of European champion in one of the disciplines, succeeded. He won two gold medals in singles and a bronze medal in team competitions. At the end of the tournament, the Moldovan national team was among the five strongest on the continent.

For the second year in a row, the arena in the capital’s “La Izvor” park hosted the European Beach Rugby Championships for women and men. The representatives of the fair sex took the third place, while the “haidukas” won silver medals. Also in Chisinau, a stage of the European Rugby Sevens Series was held, hosted by the “Dinamo” stadium. Neither the men’s nor the women ‘s national teams managed to get among the medalists.

The Moldovan national youth futsal team (U-19) participated for the first time in the final tournament of the European Championship among athletes under 19 years old in the status of hosts of the tournament. “Tricolor” did not manage to win a single victory in the group stage, but the organization of the tournament was highly appreciated by UEFA and the visiting national teams. For the second time in a row, Portugal won the championship trophy after defeating their Spanish peers in the final.

Sergiy Tarnovskiy, bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in Tokyo (Japan) and Paris (France), won gold and bronze medals in the canoeing singles at the World Championships in Milan (Italy), thus becoming a three-time world champion. The native of Lviv, Ukraine, who has been representing Moldova in international competitions since 2013, also won the silver medal at the World Rowing Marathon Championships in Győr, Hungary. In the 14.4 km marathon swim, Border Police officer Daniela Cociu performed successfully, becoming the second in the single canoeist average.

At the end of the year Alina Stremous was pleased with her silver medal at the IBU Cup stage – the second most prestigious biathlon tournament. In preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics, the athlete takes part in the World Cup and is among the 20 strongest.

At the IBA World Boxing Championships, held in December in Dubai (UAE), Alexandru Paraskiv won a bronze medal and prize money of $75 thousand, of which the athlete is entitled to 50%, the remaining amount is distributed between the coaches and the specialized federation.

Athletes with disabilities also distinguished themselves. The champion of the Paralympic Games in Beijing (China), the president of the Paralympic Committee of Moldova Oleg Cretul won a bronze medal at the European Championship in para-judo and made his debut in para-sambo at the age of 50, becoming the best on the continent in his weight category at the first attempt. Oleg Nemtsan became a bronze medalist at these competitions. Ion Basok, silver medalist at last year’s Paralympics, became vice world and European champion in para-judo during the year.

The most outstanding achievements of Moldovan athletes (national teams) in 2025
Athlete (national team) / sport type	Tournament	Highest individual (team) performance*
Ion Badanev weightlifting	European Championship	Bronze medal (up to 61 kg)
Ion Basok para-judo	World Championships among athletes with visual impairment	Silver medal (over 95 kg)
Ion Basok para-judo	European Championship among athletes with visual impairment	Silver medal (over 95 kg)
Lucian Bray sambo	European Championship	Bronze medal (“Combat Sambo”, up to 71 kg)
Tudor Bratu weightlifting	European Championship	Three bronze medals (up to 102 kg)
Artem Deleanu Greco-Roman wrestling	European Championship	Bronze medal (up to 55 kg)
Mariana Dragutsan women’s wrestling	European Championship	Bronze medal (up to 55 kg)
Vitaly Yeremenko Greco-Roman wrestling	World Championship	Bronze medal (up to 63 kg)
Vitaly Yeremenko Greco-Roman wrestling	European Championship	Bronze medal (up to 63 kg)
Elena Yerygina (Kylchik) weightlifting	European Championship	Three gold medals (up to 81 kg)
Daniela Cochu canoeing	World Rowing Marathon Championships	Silver medal (14.4 km in single canoe)
Oleg Kretsul para-judo / para-sambo	European Para Judo Championships for visually impaired athletes	bronze medal (over 95 kg)
Oleg Kretsul para-judo / para-sambo	European Para-Sambo Championship among athletes with visual impairment	Gold medal (up to 98 kg)
Oleg Nemtsan para-sambo	European Championship among athletes with visual impairment	Bronze medal (up to 79 kg)
Alexandru Paraskiv boxing	World Championship (IBA version)	Bronze medal (up to 67 kg)
Vyacheslav Plamediale sambo	European Championship	Silver medal (“Sport Sambo”, up to 79 kg)
Abigail Rencheli tennis	ITF W25 tournament in Daytona Beach (USA)	Victory in doubles (partner – Estonian Ingrid Neil)
Marin Robu weightlifting	World Championships	Three bronze medals (up to 88 kg)
Marin Robu weightlifting	European Championships	Gold and two silver medals (up to 89 kg)
Irina Ryngach women’s wrestling	World Championship	Bronze medal (up to 65 kg)
Irina Ryngach women’s wrestling	European Championship	Silver medal (up to 65 kg)
Daria Sazonova women’s boxing	World Championship (according to IBA version)	Bronze medal (up to 81 kg)
Danu Sekrieru weightlifting	European Championships	Two silver and one bronze medal (up to 55 kg)
Ilya Snitsar tennis	ITF M25 tournament in Bacau (Romania)	Winning in doubles (partner – Uruguayan Franco Roncadelli).
	ITF M25 in Piteşti, Romania	Winning in doubles (partner – Uruguayan Franco Roncadelli).
	ITF M15 tournament in Slobozia, Romania.	Victory in singles
Alexander Solovey Greco-Roman wrestling	European Championship	Bronze medal (up to 77 kg)
Alina Stremous biathlon	IBU Cup Stage in Obertilliach (Austria)	Silver medal (7.5 km sprint)
Sergey Tarnovsky canoeing	World Championship	Gold medal (5.000 meters in single canoe) Bronze medal (500 meters in single canoe)
Sergey Tarnovsky canoeing	World Rowing Marathon Championships	Silver medal (3.6 km in single canoe)
Nikolai Frangou kettlebell lifting	European Championship	Two gold medals (“long cycle with two kettlebells of 32 kg each”, “snatch of 32 kg kettlebell for 12 minutes”)
Victor Ciobanu Greco-Roman wrestling	European Championship	Bronze medal (up to 60 kg)
kettlebell lifting men’s team	European Championship	Bronze medal
Beach rugby women’s team	European Championship	Bronze medal
Beach rugby men’s team	European Championship	Silver medal