Moldova to send 11 athletes to Youth Olympics

BUCHAREST - Moldova's President Nicolae Timofti on Wednesday handed the state flag to wrestler Tatiana Doncila, who is to be standard bearer at the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games.

Eleven Moldovan athletes will participate in six sport events at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, on Aug 16-28, according to a release of the presidential press service reaching here from Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova.

"I wish you to get outstanding performances in your activity, so that the flag should be hoisted as often as possible, and the national anthem should sound at stadiums around the world," Timofti said.

The expectations were high, as Moldova had a lot of gifted young athletes, who had already won medals at world and European championships, said Nicolae Juravschi, chairman of the National Olympic Committee.

The Moldovan athletes will compete in canoeing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, track-and-field and wrestling.

Medal hopes include rower Serhyi Tarnovskyi, rewarded at the European junior, as well as Doncila and Dumitru Ceacusta, medals at the European Junior Wrestling.

At the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games, the Moldovan team won a silver medal and a bronze one.