Soccer
• Ukraine has drawn Group C with Germany, Northern Ireland and Poland for the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. The announcement came on December 12 during the draw in Paris. Ukraine’s opener is against Germany on June 12, followed by Northern Ireland on June 16 and Poland on June 21. Reaction from Ukraine’s head coach, Mykhailo Fomenko, said the opening match against Germany will set the tone for the remainder of the tournament, but remains hopeful.
• In the UEFA Champions League, Dynamo Kyiv won 1-0 on December 9 against Tel Aviv and won 2-0 against Porto on November 24. Shakhtar lost 0-2 against Paris Saint-Germain on December 8 and lost 4-3 on November 25 against Real Madrid. Shakhtar finished in third place in Group A after six matches played (one win and five losses) with three points and has been relegated to the Europa League knock-out stage. Dynamo is in second place in Group G behind Chelsea (13 points) after six matches played (three wins, two draws and one loss) to finish with 11 points. Dynamo, as group runner-up, will compete with home-away first- and second-leg matches during February and March.
• In the UEFA Europa League, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk won 3-0 against Rosenborg (Sweden) on December 10 as part of its Group G matches, but it was not enough to advance them to the next round. Dnipro lost 1-3 against Lazio (Italy) on November 26 and the Ukrainian team finished in third place with seven points after six matches played (two wins, one draw and three losses). Lazio finished in first place in the group with 14 points, Saint-Etienne is in second place with nine points and Rosenborg is in last place with two points. Shakhtar Donetsk, which finished in third place in its group in the Champions League, is among the unseeded teams that will advance to the knock-out stage of the Europa League.
• Ukraine’s women’s team is in fourth place in Group 3 of the UEFA Women’s European Championship, with one point. Ukraine tied 2-2 against Romania on October 22 and lost 0-3 against France on October 27. Matches resume on March 4, 2016, for Ukraine against Albania, Greece (March 8), Albania (April 8), France (April 12), Greece (June 7) and Romania (September 15).
• Ukraine’s U-19 men’s team is in second place in Group 5 of the UEFA U-19 Championships. Ukraine won 3-1 against Bosnia-Herzegovina on November 12, lost 4-3 against Turkey on November 15 and won 4-0 against Azerbaijan on November 10 in Baku. Ukraine is in second place in Group 5 with five points after three matches played. The final of the tournament will be held on July 24, 2016, in Germany. Ukraine, in Group 4, plays against the Netherlands on March 24, against Poland on March 26 and against Northern Ireland on March 29.
• Ukraine’s U-21 men’s team in the UEFA U-21 qualifying round is in fifth place in Group 3 after five matches played (one win, one draw and three losses) with four points. Ukraine won 2-1 against Northern Ireland on November 17 and tied 2-2 with Scotland on November 13. Ukraine’s next match is on May 27, 2016, against Macedonia. Ukraine’s 2016 matches include France (September 2) and Scotland (September 6). Iceland leads the group with 11 points, followed by France (10), Macedonia (seven), Scotland (five) and Northern Ireland (one point).
• Ukraine’s U-19 women’s team finished in third place in Group 11 of the UEFA U-19 Women’s Championship qualifiers that concluded on September 20. Ukraine lost 2-3 against Scotland on September 15, lost 0-1 against Austria (group hosts) on September 17 and lost 1-3 against Albania on September 20. The top two teams –Scotland and Austria – advanced to the elite round.
• In the UEFA U-17 Women’s Championship qualifying round, Ukraine lost 0-3 in Group A against Ireland on October 15, won 1-0 against Turkey (group host) on October 17 and won 11-0 against Andorra on October 20. Ukraine is in second place in Group A with six points. Ireland leads (nine points), followed by Turkey (three) and Andorra (zero).
• In the UEFA U-17 Men’s Championship qualifying round, Ukraine is in second place in Group 13, hosted by Moldova. Ukraine tied 1-1 with Moldova on October 26, won 2-0 against Estonia on October 28, and won 3-0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina on October 31. Ukraine is in Group 2 of the Elite Round, and in 2016 will play Finland on March 24, Turkey on March 26 and against England on March 29.
• In the UEFA Youth League, Dynamo Kyiv in Group G is in second place after six matches played (three wins, one draw and two losses) with 10 points (Chelsea leads with 14 points, Porto is in third place with eight and Tel Aviv is in fourth place with one point). Shakhtar Donetsk, in Group A, finished in fourth place with four points after six matches played (one win, one draw and four losses). Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) leads Group A with 13 points, followed by Real Madrid (12 points) and Malmo (Sweden) with five points. Shakhtar lost 2-5 against PSG on December 8 in France, and Dynamo won 2-0 against Tel Aviv on December 9 in Kyiv.
• The Football Federation of Ukraine was fined 97,000 euros (50,000 for “racist” behavior of fans, and 47,000 euros for use of banned laser pointers by fans, prohibited banners and chants, as well as blocking the use of the stairs after a November 27 verdict by the UEFA controlling board on disciplinary and ethical measures. The board cited “manifestations of neo-Nazism” by the fans during the October 12 Euro 2016 qualifier against Spain in Kyiv (0-1 loss). Earlier, Arena Lviv was also banned from hosting World Cup 2018 qualifier matches for similar reasons after the Ukraine-San Marino match in 2014. Ukraine’s opening home match in the Euro 2020 will be held without spectators.
Futsal
• Ukraine advanced to the final tournament of the UEFA Futsal Euro tournament after winning first place in Group 4 of the main round. Ukraine is joined by the other group stage winners Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Portugal, Russia, Spain and tournament host Serbia. Other teams that advanced after the play-off stage included Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Kazakhstan. Ukraine, in Group B, is set to play against Hungary on February 4, 2016, in Belgrade. Also in Group B, Spain is set to play against Ukraine on February 6. The tournament final is to be held on February 13.
Boxing
• Cruiserweight WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk (9-0, 9 KO) successfully retained his title by seventh-round TKO against Pedro Rodriguez (22-2-0, 19 KO) of Cuba on December 12 at the Sports Palace in Kyiv. Usyk dropped Rodriquez multiple times to the canvas, and in the seventh round, after Rodriquez beat the count, referee Yuri Koptsev stopped the fight at 1:57. Super lightweight Denys Berinchyk (3-0-0, 2 KO) won by unanimous decision after six rounds against Gyorgy Mizsei Jr. (22-17-0, 13 KO) of Hungary; judges scored 60-50, 60-50, 60-50. Super middleweight Maxim Bursak (32-4-1, 15 KO) won by second-round knockout against George Beroshvili (22-8-2, 15 KO) of Georgia. Welterweight Viktor Plotnikov (34-3, 15 KO) won in the fifth round (out of eight scheduled) against Ilya Reutski (6-7-1-, 3 KO) of Belarus after the Belarusian retired. Super welterweight Alexander Spirko (20-0-0, 12 KO) won by second-round knockout against Zoran Didanovic (17-28-0, 8 KO) of Serbia. Featherweight Oleg Malinovsky (17-0, 5 KO) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds against Aldimar Silva Santos (19-10-0, 12 KO) of Brazil; judges scored 100-91, 100-91, 100-90.
• Super Middleweight Dilmurod Satybaldiev (10-1, 0 2 KO) won by unanimous decision after 12 rounds against Roman Shkarupa (27-5-2, 11 KO) to retain his WBA continental title on December 12 at the Ice Palace in Moscow. Judges scored 117-112, 117-112, 116-112.
• The Stereo Plaza in Kyiv hosted a night of boxing on December 5. Featherweight Oleg Yefimovych (27-2-0, 14 KO) won by unanimous decision against Ruddy Encarnacion (35-24-4, 17 KO) of Spain after 12 rounds for the European Boxing Union title and the WBA continental title. Judges scored 117-110, 117-11, 118-109. Flyweight Artem Dalakian (12-0-0, 8 KO) won by first-round (out of 12 scheduled rounds) knockout against Robert Kanalas (11-6-0, 8 KO) of Hungary for the WBA continental title. Super bantamweight Oleksandr Yehorov (15-1-1, 8 KO) won by second-round knockout against Gabor Molnar (17-9-0, 11 KO) of Hungary, in a fight that was scheduled for 12 rounds. Yehorov won the Universal Boxing Organization world super bantamweight title.
• Light Heavyweight Oleksandr Gvozdyk (8-0-0, 6 KO) won by third-round TKO (out of eight) against Cleiton Conceicao (22-8-2, 18 KO) of Brazil on November 20 at Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas.
• The Ice Palace “Terminal” in Brovary, Kyiv, hosted a night of boxing on Novevmber 14. Super Lightweight Denys Berinchyk (2-0, 2 KO) won by TKO after six rounds (out of six) against Innocent Anyanwu (22-13-3, 13 KO) of the Netherlands; super lightweight Mishiko Beselia (12-0, 8 KO) won by third-round TKO (out of eight) against Deniss Kornilovs (1-4, 0 KO) of Latvia; and super middleweight Denys Chekai (1-0-0, 0 KO) won by majority decision after four rounds against Denys Kazakov (0-2-0, 0 KO) with judges scoring 40-37, 39-37, 38-38.
• Middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko (7-0-0, 5 KO) won by third-round TKO (out of eight) against Jessie Nicklow (25-8-3, 8 KO) of the U.S.A. at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on November 14.
• Featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KO), 27, retained his WBO featherweight title against Romulo Koasicha (25-6, 15 KO), 24, of Mexico on November 7 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Lomachenko KO’d the challenger in the 10th round with a series of body shots after dominating the entire fight, landing 47 percent of his 717 punches thrown. Referee Robert Byrd counted Koasicha out at 2:35 seconds of the 10th round.
• Welterweight Taras Shelestyuk (13-0-0, 8 KO) won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds against Aslanbek Kozaev (26-2-1, 7 KO) of Russia on November 6 at The D Hotel in Las Vegas. Shelestyuk holds the vacant WBA intercontinental title, the vacant WBO and the NABO welterweight titles. Referees scored the fight 100-90, 100-90, 99-91.
• Super welterweight Ihor Fanian (15-10-2, 7 KO) lost against Stephen Danyo (7-0-2, 6 KO) of the Netherlands after winning by no contest after the first round (out of six) on November 1 in Izegem, Belgium.
• On October 31 a night of boxing was held in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Middleweight Evhen Khytrov (12-0-0, 11 KO) won by second-round KO against Josh Luteran (14-3-0, 9 KO) of the U.S.A. and earned the North American Boxing Federation title; heavyweight Andrey Rudenko (27-2-0, 18 KO) won by fifth-round TKO (out of 10) against Konstanitin Airich (22-14-2, 18 KO) of Germany; cruiserweight Asmayl Sillakh (23-2-0, 18 KO) won by first-round TKO (out of eight) against George Tevdorashvili (22-15-3, 14 KO) of Georgia; welterweight Denys Lazarev (3-0-0, 1 KO) won by second-round TKO (out of six) against fellow countryman Bohdan Bondarenko (1-11-0, 1 KO); featherweight Pavlo Ishchenko (2-0-0, 2 KO) won by first-round (out of six TKO) against Dzmitri Agaronau (8-6-0, 2 KO) of Belarus; middleweight Aidos Yerbossynuly (2-0-02 KO) of Kazakhstan won by fourth-round (out of six TKO) against Denys Podnebesny (0-1-0, 0 KO); and super middleweight Sergiy Shevhcuk (1-2-0, 1 KO) won by first-round (out of six TKO) against Petru Ciobanu (1-1-0, 0 KO) of Moldova.
• Super lightweight (light welterweight) Viktor Postol (28-0-0, 12 KO) won by KO in the 10th round (out of 12) against Lucas Martin Matthysse (27-4-0, 34 KO) of Argentina on October 3 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. With the win, Postol, 31, won the WBC super lightweight title. The Ukrainian boxer, coached by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, told UA Today said that the final straight right that knocked out Matthysse didn’t seem like a match-ending blow. The Argentine told the referee that he could not continue after hearing a pop in his eye. Postol, who maintains an undefeated record, has been boxing professionally since October 2007.
• At a boxing night at the Circus in Lviv on October 2, welterweight Viktor Plotnikov (33-3-0, 15 KO) won by unanimous decision against Nioloz Gviniashvili (10-3-3, 6 KO) of Georgia after eight rounds, with judges scoring 80-73, 79-73, 79-73. Super welterweight Denys Lazarev (2-0-0, 0 KO) won by unanimous decision after six rounds against Bogdan Protsyshin (7-12-0, 2 KO), with judges scoring 60-54, 60-54, 65-55.
• Middleweight Fedir Charkashyn (5-0-0, 3 KO) won by unanimous decision after six rounds against Victor Garcia (7-6-3, 0 KO) of France on October 2 at Principality of Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
• Ukraine’s Boxing Federation denounced claims by the Crimean Boxing Federation that Ukraine’s boxers would be attending the tournament in Yalta on September 25-27. Ilya Gurovich of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine said “The attitude to this championship is negative. How can Crimea carry out any competition without Ukraine? I believe it to be wrong.” The annual tournament is hosted in memory of Soviet hero Amhet-Khan Sultan.
• Ukraine Otamans, the amateur team in the World Series of Boxing, is set to begin the 2016 season on January 15 against the Cuba Domadores in Havana. Other teams in Group A include Russia, Argentina, Venezuela and Poland. For 2015, Hasanboy Dusmatov (light flyweight) was ranked in second place individually, while the team ranked in fourth place with 27 points.
• In amateur rankings by the AIBA, Anastasiia Chernokolenko (81 kg) was ranked in third place and Liliya Durnyeva (81 kg) was ranked in seventh place, and Maryna Malovana (57 kg) in seventh place. Mykola Butsenko (56 kg) was ranked in the fifth place, Pavlo Ishchenko (60 kg) was ranked in 10th place.
Table Tennis
Ukraine’s women’s team – Tetiana Bilenko, Margarita Pesotska and Hanna Haponova – won bronze in the team competition at the European Table Tennis Championships on September 25 through October 4 in Yekateringburg, Russia. Ukraine was in Group D with Sweden, the Netherlands and Portugal.
• Ukraine table tennis club Trade Aliiance Kyiv lost 0-3 against Istres Tennis de Table of France on November 27 during the fourth stage of the European Table Tennis Union tournament.
• Tennis
Alexandr Dolgopolov and Elina Svitolina will represent Ukraine in the Gold Group at the 28th Hopman Cup 2016 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia, on January 3-9, 2016. Also in the Group B are Australia (Gold), the United States and the Czech Republic. The tournament features singles and mixed doubles competitions. The players representing Ukraine were announced on October 7. Ukraine’s first match will be against the U.S.A on January 4.
Sergiy Stakhovsky lost 6-7 (5), 2-6 in the Round of 16 against Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands at the Trofeo Citta Di Brescia in Brescia, Italy, on November 16-21. Illya Marchenko lost 3-6, 2-6 in the quarterfinals against Dustin Brown of Germany. In doubles, Stakhovsky and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic lost 6-4, 3-6, 9-11 in the quarterfinals against Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands.
• Sergiy Stakhovsky was eliminated during the quarterfinal match against Lucas Pouille of France 1-6, 4-6 at the Challenger de Vendee international tennis tournament in Mouilleron Le Captif, France on November 9-15.
• Illya Marchenko lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(7) in the semifinal against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia at the Peugeot Slovak Open in Bratislava on November 9-11.
• Elina Svitolina lost in the semifinal against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 1-6 at the WTA tennis tournament in Zhuhai, China on November 3.
• Alexandr Dolgopolov lost in the Round of 32 against David Ferrer of Spain 2-8, 2-6 at the PNB Paribas Masters tournament in Paris on November 2-8.
• Lesia Tsurenko lost 4-6, 2-6 Svetlana Kunetsova of Russia in the semifinal of the Kremlin Cup on October 19-24 in Moscow. In doubles, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Olga Savchuk lost in the first round to Darja Jurak (Croatia) and Nicole Melichar (Czech Republic), 6-3, 1-6, 8-10.
• Illya Marchenko and Norbert Gombos of Slovakia lost against Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic and Andreas Siljestrom of Sweden in doubles 5-7, 6-4, 5-10 in the Round of 16 at the Ethias Trophy in Mons, Belgium on October 5-11.
• Sergiy Stakhovsky lost in the quarterfinal against Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 4-6, 2-6 during the Open d’Orleans in Orelans, France, on September 28-October 4.
• Biathlon
Ukraine’s women’s biathlon team (Yuliia Dzhima, Olga Abramova, Valj Semerenko and Olena Pidhrushna) won bronze in the women’s 4×6-kilometer relay at the BMW International Biathlon Union World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, on December 10-13 with a time of 1:05:45.7 seconds (+13.1 seconds behind the lead). Italy won first place, followed by Germany.
• Maksym Ivko won bronze (26:24.7 seconds) in the junior men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the IBU Junior Cup in Obertilliach, Austria, on December 12-13.
• Iryna Varvynets won gold in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint with a time of 22:03.9 seconds and third place in women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (32:43.2 seconds) at the IBU Cup at Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy, on December 10-13. Ukraine’s mixed relay team (Anastasiya Merkushyna, Varvynets, Vitaliy Kilchytskyy and Dmytro Rusinov) won bronze (2×6-kilometer and 2×7.5-kilometer). Ukraine’s team finished with a time of 1:16.56 seconds, +2:09.6 seconds behind the lead won by Russia.
• Olena Pidhrushna won bronze in the women’s 15-kilometer race (42:54.8 seconds, +37.8 seconds) and bronze in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (20:24.6 seconds, +38.4 seconds) at the BMW International Biathlon Union World Cup in Oestersund, Sweden, on November 28 through December 6. Pidhrushna also finished in 10th place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit. Sergey Semenov finished in 10th place in the men’s 20-kilometer individual race with a time of 52:35.1 seconds (+2:20.6 seconds). Dmytro Pidruchnyi finished in eighth place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (25:18.5 seconds) and in ninth place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit. Olga Abramova finished in seventh place in the women’s 7.5-km sprint.
Chess
Veronika Veremyuk, 8, won the European Chess Junior Championship in Porec, Croatia, on September 20-October 1. Veremyuk scored 8 out of 8 points prior to the final match to win the gold medal in her age category. In the final, Veremyuk played against Russian Alexandra Shvedova of Russia. Mariya Muzychuk, 22, won in her age category as well.
• Swimming
Mykhailo Romanchuk won first place in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle race (15:07.06 seconds) at the 2015 World Swimming Championships in Doha, Qatar, on November 2-3. Daryna Zevina won bronze in women’s 200-meter backstroke (2:11.05 seconds).
• Anastasiia Nedobiga won silver in the women’s three-meter springboard event (316.85 points) at the FINA Diving Grand Prix in Singapore on October 16-18. Viktoriya Kesar and Nedobiga won silver (282.60 points) in the women’s 3threemeter synchronized dive, and Gaana Krasndhlyk and Vlada Tatsenko won bronze (264.54 points) in the women’s 10-meter synchronized dive. In mixed competition, Nedobiga and Oleg Kolodiy won silver (279.90 points) in the mixed three-meter springboard.
• Judo
Ukraine’s Stanislav Bondarenko (+100 kg) and Iryna Kindzerska (+78 kg) won bronze medals at the Judo Grand Slam in Tokyo on December 4-6. In the semifinal, Bondarenko lost to Ryu Shichinohe of Japan, and Kindzerska lost in the semifinal against Nami Inamori of Japan.
• Oleksandr Kosinov (81 kg), Nataliya Nikolaychyk (52 kg), Inna Cherniak (57 kg) and Iryna Husieva (63 kg) won gold at the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) Judo European Championships on November 27-28 in Odivelas, Portugal. Davyd Khorava (66 kg), Dmytro Solovey (73 kg) and Oleksandr Nazarenko (90 kg) won silver; Serhii Kotenko (73 kg) tied with Nikolai Kornhass of Germany for bronze. In the men’s team competition, Ukraine tied with Spain for third place after Ukraine defeated Turkey. In the medals standings, Ukraine finished in second place with eight medalists (four gold, four silver and one bronze) and two fifth-place finishes – Yuliya Halinksa (48 kg) and Liudmyla Lohatska (52 kg). Twenty countries participated in the event.
• Ukraine won two bronze medals at the Judo Grand Prix in Qingdao, Japan, on November 22. Medalists included Oleksandr Gordiienko (+100 kg) after his win against Aituar Abdulov of Kazakhstan; and Svitlana Iaromka (+78 kg), who defeated Belkis Zehra Kaya of Turkey. Artem Bloshenko (-100 kg) finished in fifth place.
• Yelizaveta Kalinina (+78 kg) won bronze at the World Junior Championships on October 23-27 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Viktor Makukha (81 kg) and Anton Savytskiy (100 kg) won bronze medals, while Sergei Zvieriev (+100 kg) and Anastasiya Turchyn (78 kg) finished in fifth place. Ukraine finished in 17th place in the medals standings.
Georgii Zantaraia (66 kg ) won silver at the Judo Grand Prix in Paris on October 17-18. Iryna Kindzerska (+78 kg) won bronze. Maryna Cherniak (48 kg) and Iakiv Khammo (+100 kg) finished in fifth place.
• Cycling
Roman Gladysh won third place in the men’s elite scratch race at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand, on December 4-6. Tetyana Klichenko finished in ninth place in the women’s scratch race.
• Lyubov Basova finished in fourth place in the women’s keirin (six-person, eight-lap race) finals at the Union of European Cycling (UEC) Track Elite European Championships 2015 in Grenchen, Switzerland, on October 15-18. Basova’s time was just 0.145 seconds behind the lead time.
• Triathlon
Yulia Yelistratova won first place in the elite women’s division at the 2015 Alanya ITU Triathlon World Cup on October 17 in Alanya, Turkey. Yelistratova finished in 1:59.32 seconds.
• Fencing
Ukraine’s junior men’s epee team won gold at the World Cup team challenge in Bratislava, Slovakia, on November 28. In the final, Ukraine won 45-43 against Hungary. Along the way, Ukraine won 45-38 in the semifinal against Poland and, in the quarterfinal, Ukraine won 45-33 against the Czech Republic.
• Ukraine’s junior men’s epee fencing team finished in fourth place at the World Cup tournament in Tallinn, Estonia, on November 15. Ukraine lost 10-8 against Italy in the third-place match.
• Ukraine’s junior men’s saber team finished in fourth place at the team World Cup tournament in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on November 15. In the semifinal, Ukraine lost 45-18 against Italy.
• Ukraine’s women’s saber team finished in ninth place at the World Cup in Nanjing, China, on November 15. In the ninth-place match, Ukraine defeated France 40-39.
• Mariya Tsymbota tied for third place (with Olga Nikitina of Russia) in the Women’s Saber Junior World Cup in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on November 14. Tsymbota lost 15-4 against Tania Arrayales of Mexico in the semifinal.
• Ukraine’s women’s saber fencing team – Olha Harlan, Olena Voronina, Olena Kravatska and Halyna Pundyk – won the World Cup of Fencing in Orleans, France, on November 1. In the final, Ukraine defeated Russia 45-33. The tournament is used as a qualifying tool for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Harlan finished in second place in the individual competition.
• Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnast Anna Rizatdinova won gold at the championship in Padua, Italy, on December 5. She competed with her club, San Giorgio Dezio.
• Angelina Kysla and Oleg Vernaiev won first place in the combined team event at the artistic gymnastics Swiss Cup in Zurich on November 8. The duo finished with 85.675 points. In the first round, Kysla scored 13.35 in the floor exercise, while Verniaiev scored 15.5 on the horse; and in the second round, Kysla scored 13.775 in the vault and Verniaiev scored 15.650 in the parallel bars; and in the semifinal, Kysla scored 12.3 points in the uneven bars and Verniaiev scored 15.1 points in the rings. In the final, the duo scored 29.925 points, with 13.875 in the vault for Kysla and 16.05 for Verniaiev in the parallel bars.
• At the 32nd Arthur Gander Memorial tournament in Morges, Switzerland, on November 4, Oleh Verniaiev won first place in the men’s all-around (43.5 points) after four events – horse, rings, vault and parallel bars. Angelina Kysla finished in 10th place in the women’s all-around, with a total of 37.850 points after three events – floor, uneven bars and vault.
Oleh Verniaiev won silver in men’s parallel bars at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championship in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 23-November 1. Ukraine, with a lone silver medal, finished in ninth place in the medal standings.
• Paralympics
Ukraine finished in 12th place in the medals standings with 26 medals – four gold, eight silver and 14 bronze – at the International Paralympic Committee Championship in Doha, Qatar, on October 21-31. Roman Danyliuk won gold in the men’s shot put (F12), Oleksandr Doroshenko won gold in men’s shot put (F38), Mariia Pomazan won gold in the women’s shot put (F35) and Oksana Zubkovksa won gold in the women’s long jump (T12). Oxana Boturchuk won silver in the women’s 400-meter (T12) race and the women’s 200-meter race (T12), Roman Mesyk won silver in the men’s javelin throw (F11), Dorosehnko won silver in the men’s javelin throw (F38) and Natalia Iezlovetska won silver in the women’s 40-meter race (T20). Roman Pavlyk won silver in the men’s 200-meter race (T36) and Pavlyk won bronze in the men’s 400-meter and 100-meter races (T36) and silver in the men’s long jump (T36), Anastasiia Mysnyk won bronze in women’s shot put (F20), Dmytro Prudnikov won bronze in the men’s long jump (T20), Dmytro Ibragimov won bronze in the men’s discus throw and bronze in the men’s shot put (F46), Lyudmyla Danylina won bronze in the women’s 1,500-meter race (T20), Olena Rozdobudko won bronze in the women’s long jump (T20), Ruslan Katyshev won bronze in the men’s long jump (T11), Inna Stryzhak won bronze in the women’s long jump (T38), Boturchuk won bronze in the women’s 200-meter race (T12), Iurii Tsaruk won bronze in the men’s 200-meter race (T35) and Orysia Ilchyna won bronze in the women’s discus throw (F12).
Wheelchair Dance
Ukraine’s Ivan and Nadiia Sivak won first place in duo Latin Class 2 at the IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport World Championship on November 7-8 in Rome. In the same dance category, Olena Chynka and Oleksandr Onishchenko finished in fifth place. The Sivak team also won bronze in the duo standard Class 2 standard category (that included waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, slow foxtrot and quickstep) and the Chynka-Onishchenko pair finished in fifth place. Illona Slugovyna won gold in the women’s single Class 1 standard and Latin category (that included waltz, tango, samba, rumba and jive) and Snejana Kernichna finished in eighth place; Chynka won silver in the women’s single Class 2 standard and Latin category. Valeriy Bevzyuk and Slugovyna won second place in the duo standard Class 1 standard category and Vladimir and Snejana Kernichny finished in fifth place. Veronika Pedchenko and Valeriy Bevzyuk finished in sixth place in the Combi Latin Class 1 category (that included samba, cha-cha, rumba, paso doble and jive); and Olena Dankevych and Ivan Zamiga finished in sixth place in the combi Latin Class 2 category.
• Weightlifting
Four men and three women will represent Ukraine at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016. The names are to be announced by the Ukrainian Youth and Sports Ministry.
• Ukraine finished in fourth place in the medal standings (four medals – one gold, one silver and two bronze) at the 2015 IPC Powerlifting European Championships in Eger, Hungary, on November 28. Lidia Soloviova (50 kg) won gold, Anton Kriukov (97 kg) won silver, Mariana Shevchuk (55 kg) and Lyubov Semenyuk (79 kg) won bronze.
• Ihor Konotop (85 kg) won silver in the Junior and U-23 European Weightlifting Championships in Klaipeda, Lithuania, on October 1-11. Konotop lifted 155 kg in the snatch (second best) and 181 kg (third best) in the clean and jerk. Anton Pliesnoi (94 kg) finished in fourth place after lifting 155 kg in the snatch (third best) and 185 kg in the clean and jerk (fourth best).
• Marathon
Olena Shurkhno (2:33.24 seconds) and Vitaliy Shafar (2:14.44 seconds) won the Macao Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon in Macao, China, on December 6.
• World military games
Ukraine finished in 10th place in the medal standings (26 medals – five gold, nine silver and 12 bronze) at the 6th CISM (International Military Sports Council) World Games in Mungyeong, South Korea, on October 2-11. In track and field events; Natalia Lupu won gold in the women’s 800-meter race (1:59.99 seconds); Natalia Pohrebniak won silver in the women’s 100-meter race; Anna Ryzhkova won silver in the women’s 400-meter hurdles; Natlia Pyhyda won bronze in the women’s 400-meters; Ukraine’s women’s relay team (Lupu, Ryzhkova, Olha Zemlak and Natalia Pygyda) won silver in the women’s 4×100-meter relay race; and Iryna Gerashchenko won silver in the women’s high jump (1.84 meters); Sergii Smelyk won silver in the men’s 200-meters; and Yevhen Vynohradov won silver in the men’s hammer throw. In Judo, Svitalana Yaromka (78 kg) won silver. In wrestling, Zhan Beleniuk (85 kg) won gold in the men’s Greco-Roman; Oleksandr Chernetskyy (130 kg) won silver in men’s Greco-Roman; Pavlo Oliinyk (97 kg) won bronze in freestyle; Denys Demyankov (66 kg) won bronze in men’s Greco-Roman; Mykola Savchenko (71 kg) won bronze in Greco-Roman; Dmytro Pyshkov (75 kg) won bronze in the men’s Greco-Roman; Oleksandr Shyshman (80 kg) won bronze in the men’s Greco-Roman. In sailing, Borys Svets and Pavlo Matsuyev won gold in the 2,000-meter open two-person dinghy competition. In swimming, Mariia Liver won gold in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke and silver in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke; Bohdgan Plavin won bronze in the men’s 50-meter freestyle race; Dmytro Oseledets won bronze in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke; Oleksii Ivanov won bronze in the men’s 100-meter butterfly; and Valerii Dymo won bronze in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke. In fencing, Ukraine’s men’s epee team (Maksym Khvorost, Bohdan Nikishyn and Ihor Reizlin) won gold after winning 45-34 against Poland in the final. Ukraine’s women’s modern pentathlon team (Valeriya Permykina, Anastasiia Spas and Viktoriya Tereshchuk) won bronze. Ukraine’s men’s shooting team (Oleksandr Petriv, Oleg Tkachov and Viktor Bankin) won bronze in the men’s 25-meter rapid fire pistol event.
Checkers
Olha Baltazha won the World Draughts (checkers) Championship in Ismir, Turkey, on October 8-10 in the women’s rapid division. Nineteen teams competed, 12 men’s and nine women’s teams. Baltazha, who is trained by her husband Kostiantyn, won in the final against Matrena Nogovitsyna of Russia.
• Billiards
Mariya Pudovkina won the IPC World Championships – Free Pyramid in Tomsk, Russia, on December 1-5. Pudkovina defeated Olga Milovanova of Russia in the final of the Free Pyramid discipline. The competition attracted 93 athletes from 17 countries. Pudovkina won the championship in 2009.