SOCCER
Shakhtar wins 2-1 against Wolfsburg
Shakhtar Donetsk won 2-1 against Wolfsburg (Germany) on March 12 in the first-leg match of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16. The match was held in an empty stadium due to the coronavirus outbreak. Junior Moraes opened the scoring for Shakhtar in the 17th minute, but Wolfsburg’s John Anthony Brooks equalized in the 48th minute before the half. Shakhtar’s Marcos Antonio secured the win in the 73rd minute. The next match was scheduled for March 19, but due to measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, all UEFA and national league matches have been suspended. The draw for the quarterfinals was scheduled for March 20, with no new dates yet announced by officials.
BOXING
Radchenko loses by majority decision
Cruiserweight Serhiy Radchenko (7-6, 2 KO) lost by majority decision after 10 rounds against Artur Szpilka (24-4, 16 KO) of Poland on March 7 in Lomza, Poland. Judges scored the fight 95-93, 95-92, 94-94.
Usyk fight scheduled for May 23
Heavyweight contender Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KO) is set to fight against Derek Chisora (32-9, 23 KO) of Great Britain on May 23 at O2 Arena in London. The fight will be broadcast by DAZN and Sky Sports. Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, held a press conference on March 13 with Chisora to announce the fight details.
27 medals at women’s cup in Riga
Ukraine’s women boxers won 27 medals at the Third Riga Ladies Boxing Cup on March 4-9 in Riga, Latvia. Yulia Demianenko (48 kg), Inna Statkevych (54 kg) and Snizhana Kholodkova (57 kg) won gold medals; Mariana Maksymiv (54 kg), Yaroslava Marynchuk (57 kg), Hanna Okhrei (60 kg) and Maria Bova (69 kg) won silver medals; and Hanna Okhota (51 kg), Kateryna Rohova (60 kg), Lina Karichenska (64 kg), Maria Borutsa (75 kg), Tetiana Petrovych ((75 kg), Maria Lovchynska (+81 kg) and Maria Kryvonis (+81 kg) won bronze medals. In the youth division, the junior women won 13 medals – three gold, three silver and seven bronze.
TENNIS
Svitolina wins Monterrey title
Top-seeded Elina Svitolina captured her first title of the 2020 season when she defeated Marie Bouzkova, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, in the gritty three-hour Abierto GNP Seguros final in Monterrey, Mexico, on March 8. The hard-fought win ended a title drought of over a year for the WTA’s No. 7 ranked player. “It feels amazing,” the Ukrainian said in her post-match press conference. “It’s another step towards my goals and I’m moving in the right direction. I’m happy that it’s going the right way.” Svitolina served six aces and won almost 75 percent of points on her first serve against first-time WTA singles finalist Bouzkova, ranked No. 57. In the final set, Svitolina won 67 percent of her first-serve points to her opponent’s 45 percent, helping her secure victory. In the semifinal, Svitolina won 6-0, 6-1 against Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, and in the quarterfinal won 6-4, 7-5 against Leylah Fernandez of Canada.
Kostyuk wins singles and doubles
Seventeen-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk won the ITF World Tennis Tour singles title by defeating Spain’s Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov, 6-1, 6-0 in a 54-minute finals match in Cairo, Egypt, on February 23. This was the third singles title for the 168th ranked Kostyuk and earned her $60,000 in prize money. Her victory moved her up to a WTA world ranking of No. 138. Kostyuk disposed of Russian Varvara Grachova (6-2, 6-2) in the round of 32, Austrian Melanie Klaffner (6-1, 6-4) in the round of 16, Bulgarian Isabella Shinikova (6-1, 6-3) in the quarterfinals and fellow Ukrainian Daria Snigur (7-5, 7-6 (4)) in the semifinals. Kostyuk also won the doubles title at the ITF World Tennis Tour in Cairo. She and Russian partner Kamilla Dakhimova bested Anastasiya Shoshina (Ukraine) and Paula Kania (Poland), 6-3, 2-6, 10-6.
BIATHLON
Bekh wins gold in Hochfilzen
Kateryna Bekh won gold in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (24:50.2 seconds) at the Junior Open European Championships on March 11-12 in Hochfilzen, Austria. Bekh missed one shot but bested her nearest competitor, Laura Boucaud of France, by 21.4 seconds.
Silver medal at Nove Mesto
Artem Pryma, Serhiy Semenov, Ruslan Tkalenko and Dmytro Pidruchniy won silver in the men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay (1:11:03.5 seconds) at the World Cup in Nove Mesto, the Czech Republic, on March 5-8. The team missed a total of five shots and finished 38.2 seconds behind Norway.
SWIMMING
Gold medals at World Series
Ukraine’s synchronized swimming team won five gold medals at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series in Paris on March 6-8. In the women’s duet technical, Anastasiya Savchuk and Marta Fiedina won gold with 90.8721 points. The two women also won gold in the duet free routine (92.8667 points). Fiedina won the women’s solo free (91.8000 points) and the women’s solo technical (89.6571 points). Kateryna Reznik, Anastasiia Soldatenkova, Savchuk, Fiedina, Vladyslava Aleksiiva, Alina Shynkarenko Yana Nariezhna, Maryna Aleksiiva and Olesia Derevianchenko won gold in the women’s team highlight event (92.8333 points). Ukraine also won gold in the women’s team free combination with 93.8000 points (Yelyzaveta Yakhno, Soldatenkova, Derevianchenko, Reznik, Shynkarenko, the Aleksiiva sisters, Fiedina, Nariezhna and Savchuk). Ukraine also won gold in the women’s team free event (94.6000 points) with Fiedina, Savchuk, the Aleksiiva sisters, Reznik, Shynkarenko, Nariezhna and Yakhno.
OLYMPICS
Horuna earns spot for Tokyo
Karate champion Stanislav Horuna (75 kg) qualified for a spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games after the most recent tournaments were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The top-four rated athletes in each weight category received Olympic qualification, as well as karate athletes from Japan, the host nation. In addition to Horuna, Anzhelika Terliuha also received qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, which were originally scheduled for this year.