SOCCER
Shakhtar ties 1-1 with Manchester City
Shakhtar Donetsk tied 1-1 with Manchester City on November 27 as part of the UEFA Champions League. Shakhtar is in second place with six points and is set to advance to the knockout phase (as the top two teams advance, third-place finisher, currently Dinamo Zagreb, is relegated to Europa League). Man City is in first place (11 points) and Shakhtar plays against Atalanta on December 11 in Kharkiv. During the latest match, Man City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan scored in the 56th minute, and Shakhtar’s Manor Solomon equalized in the 69th minute.
Dynamo in third, Oleksandriya in fourth
Dynamo Kyiv lost 3-4 against Malmo (Sweden) and is in third place in Group B and Oleksandriya lost 0-1 against Wolfsburg (Germany) on November 28 and is in fourth place in Group I of the UEFA Europa League. Oleksandriya plays against Gent in Gent and Dynamo plays against Lugano (Switzerland) in Kyiv on December 12. The top two teams of each group advance to the knockout phase.
Ukraine draws Group C in Euro 2020
Ukraine will face the Netherlands and Austria, as well as the winner of the Nations League play-off. Ukraine’s matches are scheduled June 14 against the Netherlands, on June 18 against the winner of Path D (Georgia, Belarus, North Macedonia or Kosovo) of the Nations League and on June 22 against Austria. Group stage matches are to be played in co-host cities Amsterdam and Bucharest. The top two teams advance to the knockout phase and third-place finisher will advance depending on ranking.
GYMNASTICS
Bronze medals at gymnastics Worlds
Oleg Verniaiev won the bronze medal in the men’s individual all-around (86.973 points) at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, on October 4-13. Igor Radivilov won bronze in the men’s vault (14.749). The tournament attracted 547 athletes from 92 countries.
Three spots for Tokyo 2020
Ukraine secured three licenses in rhythmic gymnastics after its first-place win at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Baku on September 16-22. Vlada Nikolchenko won bronze in clubs and finished in fifth place in the individual qualification (66 points total; hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon) and Chrystyna Pohranychna also qualified (59.950 points) in 22nd place. Nikolchenko finished in fifth place in the all-around and Pohranychna finished in 12th place. Ukraine also qualified a team for group competition.
VOLLEYBALL
Ukraine upset by Serbia in quarterfinal
Ukraine lost 2-3 against Serbia in the quarterfinal of the European Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, on September 24. Ukraine won 3-2 against Belgium in the round of 16. Serbia finished as the tournament winner and Ukraine finished in seventh place.
HOCKEY
Tkachuk signs three-year, $21M deal
The Calgary Flames signed forward Matthew Tkachuk to a three-year bridge deal with an average annual value of $7 million one week before the start of the 2019-2020 NHL season. The extension makes him the highest-paid Flames player for the upcoming campaign and keeps him with the team through 2021-2022. His contract is back-loaded in salary with the third year paying him $9 million, ensuring his qualifying offer will be huge. The restricted free agent has scored 71 goals and 174 points in 224 regular season NHL games since being drafted sixth overall by Calgary in 2016. He’s added two goals and one assist in nine playoff matches. The son of former NHL-er Keith Tkachuk and older brother of Ottawa Senators winger Brady Tkachuk put up career highs in goals (34), assists (43) and points (77) last season.
Mahura with three assists in three minutes
Josh Mahura, 21, a young Ukrainian, spearheaded a spirited Anaheim Ducks victory 7-4 against the Winnipeg Jets on October 29. During the second period, he got an assisted goal after a long pass to Troy Terry for a breakaway goal in the eighth minute. During the same period, he set up goals for Adam Henrique (6:18) and Derek Grant (9:10). Mahura is the fourth rookie (of seven) in Ducks history to record three assists in a game. During his time with the Ducks in the 2018-2019 season, he had one goal and four assists in 17 games.
CYCLING
Starikova wins bronze in Glasgow
Olena Starikova won bronze in the women’s sprint (11:44.1 and 11:27.6 seconds) at the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup race in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 8-10. In the final race, Starikova won against Lea Sophie Friedrich of Germany.
BIATHLON
Pidhrushna wins silver in Norway
Olena Pidhrshna won silver in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the IBU Cup in Sjusjoen, Norway, on November 28 through December 1. Pidhrushna shot clean, with no errors, and finished with a time of 20:17.5 seconds.