Luminița Dinu (née Huțupan; born 6 November 1971) is a Romanian

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

player. She is considered a handball legend in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. She received a silver medal at the 2005 World Championship and was named goalkeeper of the All-Star Team. She was inducted into the EHF Hall of Fame in 2024. In January 2011, Dinu was chosen the best female goalkeeper ever in a fans' poll carried out by the International Handball Federation by collecting more than 7000 votes (nearly 94%). For her services to the team and the city, and her exemplary sportsmanship conduct, Dinu was made

Honorary Citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (formerly ''Râmnic'', ) is a city in Romania. Located in the south-central part of the country, in the historical province of Oltenia, it is the seat of Vâlcea County and its main urban settlement. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

in 2010. She was also given the award of ''Cetățean de onoare'' ("

") of

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

in 2009.

Biography

Dinu-Huțupan, who began playing handball in 1985, has a high school diploma, is married, and speaks

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and Slovene. She has also played for HC Kometal Gjorče Petrov and Krim Ljubljana.

Achievements

Source:

Club

* 3 times winner of Ch. League Cup (2001, 2002, 2003) * 2 times winner of European Super Cup (2004, 2007) * 5 times winner of Romanian First League of Women's Handball * 6 times winner of Slovenian Championship * 4 times winner of Romanian Cup * 6 times winner of Slovenian Cup * Winner of Romanian SuperCup - 1st Edition * Winner of Cup Winners'Cup (2007) * Winner of Champions Trophy - 1st Edition

National Team

* 2nd place

2005 World Women's Handball Championship The 2005 World Women's Handball Championship, the 17th team handball world championship for women, was played in Saint Petersburg, Russia between 5 and 18 December 2005. Russia won their second title. Qualification Preliminary round ''All times ...

Individual

* Romanian Handballer of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008 * Best Goalkeeper of

2000 European Women's Handball Championship The 2000 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in Romania from 8 to 17 December. It was won by Hungary by beating Ukraine 32–30 after extra time in the final match. Venues The teams of the tournament were divided into two groups. ...

* Best Goalkeeper of

* Best Goalkeeper of 2007 EHF Women's Champions Trophy * Most Valuable Player of

* Best Goalkeeper Ever – fans' poll

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinu, Luminita 1971 births Living people Romanian female handball players Sportspeople from Piatra Neamț Handball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players for Romania Romanian expatriate handball players Romanian expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate handball players in Slovenia Expatriate handball players in North Macedonia