SPORTSLINE (10/08/06)

SPORTSLINE

Soccer

The Charlotte Eagles Soccer Club on June 28 announced the signing of Ukrainian forward Andriy Budnyy for the remainder of the 2006 USL season. Budnyy, a 5-11 forward from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, last year was a First Team All-American at Azusa Pacific University, where he also earned the honor of being named the 2005 Golden State Athletic Conference and Region II Player of the Year. Budnyy had been training with Chivas USA of Major League Soccer before signing with the Eagles.
A report by FIFA.com said on July 20 that Ukraine's debut performance in this year's World Cup has catapulted its world ranking from 45th place to 15th position. This year, Ukraine made it to the quarterfinals, where it was ousted by the world champions-to-be from Italy.
A report on July 28 in the London Times reported the Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko's shift from Italian soccer club AC Milan to English club Chelsea FC. After three years of attempts to sign Shevchenko to Chelsea, he signed to a four-year contract worth 30.4 million pounds. Shevchenko stated that it was his family situation that motivated the move to England.
In a friendly soccer match on Tuesday, August 15, World Cup quarter-finalists Ukraine thrashed Azerbaijan 6-0 as both countries prepare for their respective Euro 2008 qualifiers. Despite missing several key players from the World Cup squad, including Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine found the net four times before halftime against the Azeries. Andriy Voronin, Serhiy Nazarenko, Ruslan Rotan and Oleg Gusev were on target in the opening half, while Andriy Vorobei and Olexiy Belik added two more in the second half. Ukraine will open their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign at home to Georgia on September 6.
On August 9 FC Dynamo Kyiv defeated the Turkish club Fenerbahce SK 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League's first-round qualifying match. The first goal was scored within 60 seconds off a redirected shot from Serhiy Rebrov to the Brazilian midfielder Diogo Rincon. The Turks responded with a goal by Marco Aurello in the first three minutes of the second half. Rincon headed in another goal off a corner from Carlos Correa in the 67th minute. Alyila Yussuf clinched the victory in the 83rd minute with a spectacular shot from outside the box. On August 23 Dynamo drew 2-2 in a rematch against Fenerbahce in the second leg of the qualifying round to push the Turks into the UEFA Cup, while Dynamo advances to the Champions League.
On September 6 Ukraine defeated Georgia, 3-2, in a Euro Cup 2008 Group B qualifier match. Andriy Shevchenko opened up the match with a goal in the 31st minute, but was answered by Shota Arveladze for the Georgians four minutes later. In the second half, Georgi Demetradze threatened an upset with a goal from 10 meters out in the 61st minute, but Ruslan Rotan responded within seconds to tie up the match. With a well-placed corner from Rotan, Andriy Rusol scored a header with 10 minutes remaining, securing the victory for Team Ukraine. Also in Group B are Scotland, France, Lithuania, Italy and the Faroe Islands. Team Ukraine's next match-up will be against Italy on October 7.
On September 27 FC Shakhtar Donetsk faced Olympiacos CFP to draw 2-2 at Olympiyskiy Stadium Donetsk in its Group D UEFA Champions League match. With both teams coming into the match with losses from the first day's match play, Shakhtar came out at the onset as the stronger team. However, it was the Greeks who were first on the board with a shot in the 24th minute of play from Michalls Konstantinou. Ten minutes later, Shakhtar responded with a goal off a free kick by Matuzalem Francelino Da Silva to equalize. In the second half, Nery Alberto Castillo put Olympiacos up again with an assist from Milos Maric in the 68th minute. Two minutes later, Shakhtar answered with a goal of its own, as Ciprian Marica connected off a pass from Anatoliy Tymoschuk. Shakhtar faces off against the Group D leader Valencia on October 18.

Chess

The 37th Chess Olympiad, the biggest congregation of talent in the game with well over 1,000 players from around 150 nations, provided the platform for the super-powers to test their strengths on May 20 through June 4. Ukraine's women's team won the first 12 matches to emerge as the most successful team in the 13-round contest. Ukraine agreed to draw the final round against Armenia only after it became clear that a win was not required for the gold. Dominating were the performances of Natalia Zhukova (7.5/10), Katerina Lahno (8/10), Inna Yanovska-Gaponenko (7/9) and Anna Usshenina (7/10). Significantly, Ukraine defeated Russia and China by identical 2-1 margins to underline its rightful claim of the title.

Cycling

On July 14 Ukrainian cyclist Yaroslav Popovych powered away from a breakaway group to sprint to a solo victory in Stage 12 of the Tour de France between Luchon and Carassonne. Representing the Discovery Channel Team in the 211.5 km leg of the race, Popovych finished with a time of 4 hours, 34 minutes and 58 seconds. He finished 25th overall with a time of 90 hours, 31 minutes and 32 seconds.

Basketball

On September 22 the Ukrainian Women's Basketball team beat Slovenia 82-79 in the group qualifying round of EuroBasket-2007. With 7 seconds remaining in the game, the score was 79-79. Maryna Tkachenko took a time-out after which Inna Yegorova drilled the 3-pointer just right before buzzer. The victory keeps Ukraine's final round hopes alive in Group B. After two more straight baskets by Olena Krykunenko the score was 76-77. With 1:30 remaining the Slovenian team scored two points and fouled. Olena Krykunenko scored both shots from the line and helped a 3-pointer by Inna Yegorova. Olena Krykunenko scored a team-high 17 points and added seven rebounds for the victors. Top scorers for Ukraine included: Olena Krykunenko 17 points and seven rebounds, Olga Shlyakhova with 16 points and Oxana Pysmennyk with 14 points.
On Saturday, September 23, the Ukrainian Women's Basketball team defeated Israel 91-74 in the Group B qualifying match of the EuroBasket-2007. Leading the scoreboard for Ukraine was Oxana Pysmennyk with 27 points and seven rebounds, Olga Shlyakhova had 21 points and six rebounds, Natalia Isachenko 16 points and 12 rebounds, Inna Yegorova 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. However, these victories were not enough for the Ukrainian team to advance. Belgium defeated Slovakia to bump Ukraine out of contention for the tournament scheduled next summer in Italy for EuroBasket-2007.

Youth athletics

On July 3 the Ukrainian Youth Sports Team won first place in its first appearance at the World Gymnasiade-2006 - a sports competition for high school students - in Greece, with 17 gold, 12 silver and eight bronze medals. Great Britain and Russia took second and third place, respectively.

Boxing

On September 19 the Amateur Boxing Association released the world rankings for different weight classes. Ukrainian boxer Ismayil Silakh was ranked second in the 81 kg light-heavyweight division. In the same division, the 2006 European Champion Dennis Poyacka was ranked fifth. Other Ukrainian boxers included: 46 kg - Vialiy Volkov, 17th; 54 kg - Maksim Tretyak, 16th; 57 kg - Dmytro Bulenkov, 11th; 60 kg - Oleksandr Klyuchko, 9th; 64 kg - Mykola Semenyaha, 12th; 69 kg - Oleksandr Streckiy, 13th; 75 kg - Oleksandr Usyk, 13th; over 91 kg - Vycheslav Hlazkov, 9th.
On September 9 five Ukrainian amateur boxers earned medals at the Women's European Championships held in Warsaw, Poland. Winning the silver for the Ukrainian team were Lesja Kozlan in the 66 kg division and Olha Novikova in the 75 kg division. Winning the bronze medals were Ludmila Hrytsay in the 54 kg division, Saida Gasanova in the 63 kg divison and Irina Komar in the 80 kg division.
On September 18 Ukrainian amateur boxer Vasyl Lomachenko defeated Albert Portuondo of Cuba at the World Junior Championships held in Agadir, Morocco, to take home the gold in the 51 kg division. Yevhen Khytrov took the bronze in the 69 kg division.
On September 23 at the CISM (Conseil International du Sport Militaire) Championships in Warendorf, Germany, Ukrainian amateur boxer Artem Dalakyan defeated Gao Liang of China to win the gold medal in the 48 kg division.
On September 24 at the Amber Gloves Boxing Tournament in Kaliningrad, Russia, amateur boxer Oleksandr Grishchuk (48 kg) and Semen Fisinchuk (69 kg) of Ukraine each won silver medals. Additionally, Sergey Pugachenko of Ukraine won the bronze in the 54 kg division.

- Matthew Dubas

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