Gymnastics-Izbasa injured in Romanian Open, Nistor dominates

PLOIESTI, Romania, June 29 (Reuters) - European floor champion Sandra Izbasa injured her ankle while competing in the Romanian International Open competition at the weekend.

Izbasa, who helped Romania to win team gold at April's European championships and will be looking for medals at the Beijing Olympics, twisted her right ankle during the warm-up.

Olympic team coach Nicolae Forminte said the injury seemed to be slight. Izbasa would undergo medical checks in Bucharest.

Last year, Izbasa was sidelined for several months with a similar injury.

Steliana Nistor, the 2007 world all-round silver medallist, won three apparatus titles in the Romanian competition.

Nistor won the all-round, bars and vault but surprisingly placed second on the balance beam and third on the floor, her favourite apparatus.

Romania's women won the team gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and should be among the favourites in Beijing in August.

In the men's competition, Marian Dragulescu, who won three medals in Athens and had hoped to challenge for more in Beijing after recovering from a severe back injury, failed to finish in the top three on any apparatus.

(Reporting by Radu Timofte, Editing by Clare Fallon)