February 28, 2015

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Soccer

• Ukraine’s junior team for the UEFA U-19 European Championship (Euro 2015) was seeded in the second pot after a drawing on February 5 in Nyon, Switzerland. Ukraine will compete against Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. Greece is the host of the tournament final and has a bye to the final that will be held on July 6-19. Due to a decision by the UEFA Emergency Committee, Russia cannot be placed in the same group as Ukraine. The tournament has 52 participating nations, divided into nine groups, with seven having six teams and two with five teams.

• The UEFA U-17 European Championships group stage was drawn on December 3, 2014, in Nyon, Switzerland. Ukraine had drawn Group 8, with Germany, Italy and Slovakia, with matches to be played on March 21-26 in Germany. The tournament final is scheduled for May 6-22 in Bulgaria. The top three teams in each finals group will progress to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile scheduled for October 17-November 8.

Boxing

• On February 21 heavyweight Andrey Rudenko (24-1-0, 16 KO) lost by unanimous decision against Hughie Fury (14-0-0, 8 KO) of Great Britain at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Referees scored the fight 98-92, 98-91, 97-92 in favor of Fury.

• Welterweight Taras Shelestyuk (22-0-0, 8 KO) won by third-round TKO against Francisco Javier Reza (13-12-0, 10 KO) of Mexico on February 20 at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Calif.

• Super-welterweight Stanyslav Skorohod (9-0-0, 7 KO) won by fourth-round TKO (out of six rounds) against American Michael Moore (13-1-0, 6 KO) on February 13 at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.

• Light-heavyweight Sergey Demchenko (14-7-0, 10 KO) lost against Juho Haapoja (24-5-1, 15 KO) of Finland by second-round TKO (out of 10 rounds) on January 31 in Kauhava, Finland.

• Super-welterweight Ivan Golub (4-3, 0 KO) won against Rashawn McCain (2-2-1, 0 KO) of the U.S.A. by first-round TKO (out of six rounds) at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York on January 29. Golub, 26, who is originally from Horlivka, Ukraine, and now resides in Brooklyn, is a 6-foot southpaw known as “The Volk.”

• Light-heavyweight Oleksandr Gvozdyk (4-0, 3 KO) won by second-round TKO out of eight rounds against American Corey Cummings (18-7-1, 13 KO) on January 24 at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colo.

• Lightweight Ivan Redkach (18-0-0, 13 KO) won against Yakubu Amidu 21-6-2, 19 KO) of Ghana on January 9 in Morongo Casino in Cabazon, Calif. Amidu retired after six rounds out of 10. Middleweight Evhen Khytrov (8-0-0, 8 KO) won by third-round TKO (out of eight rounds) against Maurice Louishome (8-0-1, 4 KO) of the U.S.A. Super-featherweight Victor Chernous (15-2-1, 5 KO) lost by unanimous decision against Tevin Farmer (18-4-1, 4 KO) of the U.S. after eight rounds.

• Cruiserweight Alexander Usik (6-0-0, 6 KO) won by ninth-round (out of 10 rounds) TKO against Danie Venter (19-7-0, 14 KO) of South Africa on December 13, 2014, at the Sports Palace in Kyiv. Usik won the WBO Intercontinental title. Also on the undercard: super lightweight Mishiko Beselia (9-0-0, 5 KO) won after Marijus Kravcuk (4-2-1, 2 KO) retired after three rounds of eight; super-welterweight Alexander Spirko (18-0-0, 9 KO) won by second-round (out of eight) KO against Jony Ibramov (15-6-2, 1 KO) of Uzbekistan; Petr Ivanov (2-0-0, 1 KO) won by unanimous decision out of four rounds against Levan Shonia (14-7-0, 10 KO) of Georgia; featherweight Oleg Malinovsky (14-0-0, 4 KO) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds against Irakli Jeiransashvili (8-3-5,3 KO) of Georgia; and middleweight Maksym Ponomariov (10-1-0, 0 KO) won by third-round (out of six) TKO against countryman Bohdan Bondarenko (1-9-0,1 KO). Losses for Ukraine included welterweight Valentyn Kuts (22-4-0, 8 KO) against Fariz Mamedov (17-2-1, 10 KO) of Turkmenistan by second-round KO (out of six); super-lightweight Mykhaylo Andriyets (0-3-0, 0 KO) lost by unanimous decision against Eldos Sarkulov (3-0-0, 0 KO) of Kazakhstan after six rounds; super-featherweight Dmytro Aushev (1-6-0,1 KO) lost to Bekman Soylybayev (3-0-0,1 KO) of Kazakhstan by unanimous decision after six rounds; and welterweight Artem Komar (0-3-0, 0 KO) lost by unanimous decision after four rounds to Roman Zhailauov (13-0-0, 8 KO) of Kazakhstan.

• Middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko (3-0-0, 2 KO) won by first-round TKO against Raul Munoz (23-17-1, 16 KO) of the U.S.A. on December 12, 2014, at UIC Pavilion in Chicago. The fight was scheduled for eight rounds.

• Super-welterweight Ivan Golub (4-0-0, 2 KO) won by first-round KO against Josh Williams (9-7-0, 5 KO) on December 3, 2014, at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City.  The fight was scheduled for six rounds.

• Featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1-1, 1 KO) won by unanimous decision after 12 rounds against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-1-0, 33 KO) of Thailand on November 22, 2014, at Cotai Arena in Macau, China. Referees scored the fight 120-107, 120-107, 120-107.

• Welterweight Vyacheslav Senchenko (36-2-0, 24 KO) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds against Laszlo Toth (19-0-1, 14 KO) of Hungary on November 22, 2014, at Ice Palace Terminal in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast. Super middleweight Maxim Bursak (30-3-1, 13 KO) won by second-round TKO against Ramazi Gogishashvili (14-4-2, 5 KO) of Georgia; light-heavyweight Oleksandr Chervyak (15-4-1, 5KO) won by fifth-round TKO (out of eight rounds) against Paata Aduashvili (11-7-2, 8 KO) of Georgia; featherweight Oleg Yefimovych (25-2-0, 14 KO) won by first-round TKO (out of eight rounds) against Dzmitri Zgafonau (8-3-0, 2 KO) of Belarus; flyweight Artem Dalakian (10-0-0, 6 KO) won by second-round TKO (out of eight)against Malkhaz Tatrishvili (8-7-0, 0 KO) of Georgia; super-lightweight Mishiko Beselia (8-0-0, 5 KO) won by second-round TKO (out of eight) against Farhod Oripov (11-11-1, 5 KO) of Uzbekistan; and welterweight Dmytro Fedas (5-0-1, 2 KO) won by first-round TKO (out of four) against countryman Vitaliy Charkin (0-13-0, 0 KO).

• Middleweight Evhen Khytrov (7-0-0, 7 KO) won by first-round TKO (out of eight) against American Louis Rose (11-2-1, 3 KO) on November 21, 2014, at the Hard Rock Hotel in Tulsa, Okla.

• Light-heavyweight Oleksanr Gvozdyk (4-0-0, 3 KO) won by sixth-round TKO (out of eight) against American Otis Griffin (24-18-2, 10 KO) on November 15, 2014, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

• Middleweight Ivan Golub (3-0-0, 2 KO) won by first-round TKO against American Tyson Harrison (2-1-0, 1 KO) on November 13, 2014, at Baltimore Arena in Baltimore.

• Heavyweight Vycheslav Glazkov (19-0-1, 12 KO) won by seventh-round TKO (out of 10 rounds) against American Darnell Wilson (25-18-3, 21 KO) on November 8, 2014, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Light-heavyweight Vycheslav Shabrynskyy (11-0-0, 8 KO) won against Emil Gonzalez (13-9-1, 10 KO) of Cuba after the Cuban retired in the second round out of 10.

• Super-welterweight Stanyslav Skorohod (8-0-0, 5 KO) won by second-round TKO (out of six) against American David Lopez (4-11-3, 1 KO) on October 30, 2014, at Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, Calif.

• Cruiserweight Dmytro Kucher (22-1-0, 15 KO) won against American Galen Brown (42-29-1, 25 KO) on October 24, 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego, Calif., with the American retiring after four rounds out of eight.

• Super-welterweight Ivan Golub (2-0-0, 1 KO) won by first-round TKO (out of six) against American Kirk Huff (3-2-0, 1 KO) on October 15, 2014, at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City.

• Welterweight Ilya Prymak (8-1-0, 6 KO) lost by unanimous decision after 12 rounds against Rafik Harutjunan (8-0-0, 5 KO) of the Netherlands on October 13, 2014, at Theater Carr in Amsterdam. With the win, the Dutchman was awarded the WBF welterweight title.

Tennis

• Alexandr Dolgopolov defeated Australian Sam Groth 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in the first round, and won against Andrea Haider-Maurer of Austria (6-2, 6-3) in the second round the Abierto Mexicano Telcel ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Acapulco, Mexico on February 23-28. Dolgopolov is set to play against Kei Nishikori of Japan in the quarterfinal round.

• Sergiy Stakhovsky was eliminated in the semifinal at the Open 13 tournament in France on February 16-22 in a 6-3, 3-6, 2-6 loss to Simon Giles of France. Along the way, Stakhovsky won the opener against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2; won against Jan-Lenanrd Struff of Germany (6-4, 4-6, 6-3) in the second round; and won against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland (6-4, 3-6, 6-4).

• Elina Svitolina lost to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship on February 15-21 in Dubai, U.A.E. Ukraine’s Yulia Beygelzimer was eliminated in the first round.

• Sergiy Stakhovsky lost to Milos Raonoic of Canada (2-6, 3-6, 6-4) in the quarterfinal match at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (ATP World Tour 500) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on February 9-15. Along the way, Stakhovsky won 6-2, 7-6 (7) in the first round against Marcel Granollers of Spain and won against Dominic Thiem of Austria (6-1, 6-3) in the second round.

• Alexandr Dolgopolov lost in the second round of the Memphis Open ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Memphis, Tenn., on February 9-15, against Bernard Tomic of Australia 1-6, 5-7. In the first round, Dolgopolov had a bye.

• Sergiy Stakhovsky lost in the second round at the PBZ Zagreb Indoor tournament on February 2-8 in Zagreb, Croatia, against Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 1-6. Stakhovsky defeated Bron Coric of Croatia 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match. Illya Marchenko lost his opener against Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-4, 6-7, 6-7 (3).

• Sergiy Stakhovsky lost against David Ferrer of Spain 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 2-6 in the second round of the Australian Open 2015, held in Melbourne on January 19 through February 1, after Stakhovsky defeated Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 in the first round. Illya Marchenko lost to Milos Raonic of Canada 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (3-7), 3-7 in the first round; Alexander Dolgopolov lost to Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 4-6, 3-6, 2-6 in the first round. In women’s singles, Elina Svitolina won 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6) against Nicole Gibbs of the U.S.A. in the second round after defeating Yulia Putinsteva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-5 in the first round. Svitolina lost against Serena Williams of the U.S.A. 6-4, 2-6, 0-6. An early exit in the first round came from Lesia Tsurenko who lost to Madison Keys of the U.S.A. 3-6, 5-7. In women’s doubles, Yulia Beygelzimer was paired with Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland against Silvia Soler-Espinosa and MariaTorro-Flor, both of Spain. In mixed doubles, Svitolina was paired with Raven Klaasen of the Republic of South Africa against Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Florin Mergea of Romania. In men’s doubles, Stakhovsky and Johnathan array of Great Britain lost to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and David Marrero of Spain 4-6, 6-7 (6-8) in the first round.

• Lesia Tsurenko lost in the Round of 32 against Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 at the WTA tennis tournament on January 11-16 in Sydney, Australia.

• Lesia Tsurenko lost in the Round of 32 against Madison Brengle of the U.S.A. 6-7 (6), 3-6 on January 4 at the WTA tournament in Brisbane, Australia.

Judo

• Svitlana Iaromka and Iryna Kindzerska tied for fifth place in the over-78-kg division at the Judo Grand Prix in Dusseldorf, Germany, on February 20-22. In the men’s over-100-kg division, Oleksandr Gordienko lost to Sven Heinle of Germany for fifth place.

• At the European Open in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 7-8, Svitlana Iaromka and Yelyzaveta Kalanina won first and second place, respectively, in the over-78-kg division. Iakiv Khammo (+100-kg) won second place after losing to Vladut Simonescu of Romania in the final.

• Artem Bloshenko (-100 kg) won against Martin Pacek of Sweden in the bronze-medal final at the International Judo Federation Judo Grand Slam tournament on December 5-7, 2014, in Tokyo.

• Victoria Turks (-78 kg) won second place after losing to Luise Malzahn of Germany in the final at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam tournament in Abu Dhabi on October 31 through November 3, 2014. Along the way, Turks won against Anamari Velensek of Slovenia in the first round, Marta Tort Merino of Spain in the quarterfinal and Sol Kyong of North Korea in the semifinal. Svitlana Iaromka defeated Sarah Adlington of Great Britain in the over-78-kg division for third place. Iryna Kindzerska lost to Ksenia Chibisova of Russia for fifth place in the over-78-kg division.

Wrestling

• Three Crimean wrestlers – Rustem Umerov, Emil Eredzhepov and Asan Asanov – won bronze medals at the all-Russian Kuresh Competition on February 7 in Almetyevsk, Tatarstan, (Russian Federation). The tournament attracted 250 wrestlers and is held in honor of Soviet Tatar poet and resistance fighter Musa Dzhalil. Kuresh wrestling is a traditional Turkic belt-wrestling where wrestlers use towels to hold their opponents, with the goal of throwing the opponent off his feet. Crimean Tatar wrestler Umer Bilyalov won the title of Kuresh World Champion in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, in November 2014.

Biathlon

Serhiy Semenov won a bronze medal in the men’s 20-kilometer individual race at the World Cup Biathlon 8 in Holmenkollen, Norway, on February 12-14. Juliya Dzhyma and Iryna Varvynets won six and seventh place, respectively, in the women’s 15-kilometer individual competition. Ukraine’s women’s 4×6-kilometer relay team finished in sixth place and Ukraine’s men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay team finished in seventh place.

At the IBU Biathlon 6 in Brezno-Osriblie, Slovakia on February 6-8, Dmytro Rusinov won eighth place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint and ninth place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit. Nastassia Kalina won ninth place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit.

Ukraine’s mixed single relay team of Juliya Dzhyma and Artem Tyshchenko won third place in the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 7 in Nove Misto, the Czech Republic on February 5-8. Ukraine’s mixed 2×6-kilometer+2×7.5-kilometer team – Iryna Varvynets, Valj Semerenko, Dmytro Pidruchnyi and Serhiy Semenov – also won third place in the mixed relay. Semerenko won sixth place in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint. Semenov won eighth place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint; in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit, Dzyma won seventh place and Semerenko finished in ninth place; and in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit, Serhiy Semenov finished in fourth place.

Ukraine’s women’s relay team – Juliya Dzhyma, Natalya Burgyda, Valj Semerenko and Iryna Varvynets – won first place in the women’s 4×6-kilometer relay at the IBU Open European Championships on January 27-February 3 in Otepaa, Estonia. Ukraine’s 4×7.5-kilometer men’s relay team – Artem Tyshchenko, Serhiy Semenov, Artem Pryma and Dmytro Pidruchnyi – won second place. Varvynets won second place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit and eighth in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint; Dzhyma finished in 10th place in the 7.5-kilometer sprint and ninth in the women’s 15-kilometer individual; and Semenov finished ninth in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint and second in the men’s 20-kilometer individual (Tyshchenko finished in sixth place).

Valj Semerenko finished in fourth place in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 5 in Ruhpolding, Germany, on January 14-18. In the 4×6-kilometer women’s relay, Ukraine’s team – Anastasiya Merkushyna, Natalya Burdyga, Olga Abramova and Semerenko – finished in fifth place. Semerenko also finished in fourth place in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start.

Ukraine’s women’s team – Juliya Dzhyma, Natalya Burdyga, Olga Abramova and Valj Semerenko – won third place in the women’s 4×6-kilometer relay at the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 6 in Antholz-Aterselva, Italy, on January 21-25. Dmytro Pidruchnyi finished in ninth place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit

Fencing

Ukraine’s Olga Kharlan won third place at the 10th annual Yves Basseur World Cup in Women’s Saber on February 22 in Ghent, Belgium. Along the way, Kharlan defeated Jiveon Kim of South Korea 15-14, but lost to Sofiya Velykaya of Russia in the semifinal, 13-15. Velykaya won first place against Mariel Zagunis of the U.S.A. in the final 15-10. In the team competition, Ukraine (Olha Kharlan, Olha Zhovnir, Alyna Komashchuk and Olena Kravatska) finished in ninth place out of 20 teams, behind Germany and ahead of China. Italy won 45-40 against France in the final and the U.S.A. won third place after defeating Russia 45-30. Ukraine lost to Germany 45-40 in the Round of 16, and won the next three rounds: 25-28 against Japan 45-32 against Mexico and 45-33 against China.

Ukraine’s women’s team – Anfisa Pochkalova, Yana Shemyakina, Kseniya Pantelyeyeva – finished in ninth place at the Jockey Club Argentina International Tournament on February 15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ukraine won its opening match against the host, Argentina, 45-29 and lost to Estonia 37-45. Ukraine battled for ninth place with a 45-33 win over Venezuela, followed by a 45-44 win over Sweden and a 41-40 win against China. Italy won the tournament final against Romania 30-26, and Germany won against Russia 31-29 for third place. In the individual competition on February 13-14, Shemyakina finished in 17th place.

Ukraine’s men’s epee team – Anatoliy Herey, Dmytro Karuchenko, Maksym Khvorost and Bohdan Nikishin – won silver at the Peter Bakonyi World Cup tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 15. Ukraine had a bye in the first round and won 45-30 against Argentina, won 39-38 against the U.S.A. in the quarterfinals and won 31-30 against France in the semifinal. Ukraine lost in the final 45-41 against Switzerland. The tournament included competitors from 23 countries.

Epee swordsman Maksym Khvorost finished in eighth place at the Peter Bakonyi World Cup tournament on February 13 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Khvorost won 15-11 against Adam Maczik of the U.S.A. in the first round, and won 15-12 against Geza Imre of Hungary, 15-9 against Andras Redli of Hungary, 15-13 against Benjamin Steffen of Switzerland, and 15-12 win over Gabriele Cimini of Italy. But the luck ran out after a 15-12 loss to Ronana Gustin of France.

Ukraine’s women’s saber team – Olha Kharlan, Alina Komashchuk, Olena Kravatska and Olha Zhovnir – won first place at the World Cup in Athens on February 2. This win boosted Ukraine’s team standings from fifth place to third in worldwide rankings. Along the way to first place, Ukraine won 45-33 against Japan, and 45-34 against Italy, won 45-44 in the semifinal against the U.S.A. and won 45-35 in the final against Russia.

Andriy Yahodko won silver at the world cup of fencing for men’s saber in Padua, Italy, on January 30-31. Yahodka won 15-10 against Darrel Homer of the U.S.A, 15-12 against countryman Dmytro Pundyk, 15-10 against Luke Curatolli of Italy and 15-13 against Aleksandr Buykyevich of Belarus. In the semifinal, Yahodko won 15-6 against Kim Junghuan of South Korea; in the final he lost to Kambil Ibragimov of Russia 11-15.

Ukraine’s foil team – Anastasiya Derevyanko, Olga Diachenko and Anna Taranenko – finished in fifth place (out of 14 teams) at the European Fencing Cadet Championships in Poznan, Poland, on January 23-25.  In individual competition, Derevyanko finished in 12th place, after defeating Madeleine Whitfield of Great Britain 15-13, Derevyanko defeated Mariana Pistola of Brazil 15-9 and won against Viktoria Kralikova of Slovakia 15-7. The streak ended with a 8-15 loss against Janka Hoth of Hugnary. Derevyanko lost 4-15 against Nora Hajas of Hungary in the relegated round. In the team competition, Poland defeated Ukraine 39-38 in the quarterfinals. In the fifth-place match, Ukraine defeated Belarus 39-29.

Yana Shemyakina tied for bronze with Violetta Kolobova of Russia at the fencing world cup on January 23-25 in Barcelona, Spain. Shemyakina won 15-13 against Ricarda Multerer of Germany, and in the semifinal lost to Ank Ksu of China 13-12. In the team competition on January 25, Ukraine –Shemyakina, Anfisa Polchakova, Anastasiya Ivchenko and Feybi Bezhury – finished in eighth place.  Ukraine won 45-42 against Finland, 41-40 against the U.S.A., and lost to Italy 45-22. And in the race for fifth to eighth place, Ukraine lost against France 40-45 and against Switzerland 44-45.

Ukraine’s cadet fencers in foil and epee competed at the European Fencing Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia, on January 24-25. The tournament featured men’s individual epee and foil as well as women’s individual epee and men’s team foil. Ukraine’s men’s foil team – Maksym Haravskyi, Tymur Oliynychuk, Yaroslav Hayduk and Vitaliy Pavlenko – finished in fifth place (out of 19 teams) after Denmark forfeited the match.  In men’s individual foil, Haravskyi won 15-11 against Noe Mandigou Robin of France and 15-10 against Nick Itkin of the U.S.A.; he lost to Benoit Hecher of France 13-15 in the quarterfinal.  Haravskyi finished in seventh place out of 198 fencers.

Basketball

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) denied reports that Crimean clubs would be allowed to join the Russian league since Russia’s sham annexation of the Crimean peninsula. “FIBA is aware of the political turmoil affecting the regions of Crimea and Sevastopol and the possible consequence on basketball competitions in these regions,” a FIBA spokesperson said. “We are in contact with both National Basketball Federations of Ukraine and Russia and encourage them to jointly reach a satisfactory solution to ensure that basketball is least affected by the political situation. FIBA can confirm that no decision has been taken at this stage, but we will make sure to communicate any progress in this mater.”

Olympics

Serhiy Bubka, who is vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, and announced on January 29 his intention of challenging Britain’s Sebastian Coe for the presidency of the IAAF. The current IAAF president, Lamine Diack, 81, has been president since 1999 and is set to retire this year. The vote is to take place at the IAAF Congress in Beijing. Bubka was re-elected as president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine on November 24, 2014, for his third consecutive four-year term.  The sole candidate for the position, Bubka received 108 votes in favor and one against at the 29th General Assembly of the National Olympic Committee in Kyiv.

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