Sports

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has pledged to donate all of her prize money from her victory at the Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament in France. In the final match, Svitolina defeated Russia's Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-3 to claim her 17th WTA title, according to Ukrinform. "I would like to share this energy with Ukraine, with my homeland. I will be donating all my prize money from this tournament. It's going to go to the kids of Ukraine, [which is] much needed in this tough moment," Svitolina said. "I will be donating all my prize money from this tournament. Is going…

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has criticized the decision by the 2023 Wimbledon organizers to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in the tennis tournament. In a column for the UK's Daily Express, the minister called on the British authorities to refuse visas to Russian and Belarusian tennis players, according to Ukrinform. "Tennis is said to be a gentleman's game. Not a game for murderers, rapists or looters. Last year Wimbledon took the difficult but noble decision to bar competitors from Russia and Belarus. Having athletes from there would have been an awful thing in the midst of a year…

The International Olympic Committee has criticized Ukraine's decision not to allow Ukrainian athletes to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians. The IOC said this in a statement issued on Saturday, Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters. "If implemented, such a decision would only hurt the Ukrainian athlete community, and in no way impact the war that the world wants to stop, and that the IOC has so vehemently condemned," the statement said. Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from most elite international sporting competitions since March 2022 following Russia's…

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has met with President of the International Gymnastics Federation Morinari Watanabe, who is on a visit to Ukraine. That's according to the presidential press service, Ukrinform reports. The meeting was attended by Daria Herasymchuk, the president's adviser and commissioner for children's rights and child rehabilitation, Tetiana Kharko, a sister of the acting commander of the 36th Marine Brigade Serhii Volynskyi, Minister of Youth and Sports Vadym Hutssait, and Ukrainian track and field athlete, Olympic Games medalist Olena Hovorova. The participants in the meeting informed Morinari Watanabe about Russia's aggression…

As the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee is expected to meet in the next few days, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have issued a joint statement on banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from international sports competitions. The text of the statement has been published on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, according to Ukrinform. "As we are approaching the next meeting of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee on March 28-30, 2023, we wish to reiterate Ukraine's position on the IOC recent calls to explore the pathways for participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes…

On day two of Rome European Open 2023, the Ukrainian judoka, Marat Kryzhanskyi, won a gold medal, having placed first in the -90kg category, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The Ukrainian judoka, coming from the Vinnytsia region, reached the final round and won against the French competitor, Francis Damier. Meanwhile, Diana Semchenko placed seventh in the +70kg category. In general, judokas from 34 countries participated in Rome European Open 2023. Photo: ukrainejudo.com

A summit of 35 countries has been held in the United Kingdom over the issue of Russia's possible participation in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. According to Ukrinform, a group of 35 countries, including the United States, Germany and Australia, agreed to demand the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from participation in the 2024 Olympics, Lithuanian Sports Minister Jurgita Siugzdiniene said. "We invite you not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in any international competitions, including the Olympic Games, while the war in Ukraine continues. Our position as sports politicians must be strong and united. We…

Vitaliy Tkachuk, head of the Ukrinform sports department, has written an open letter to the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. The journalist invited Bach to discuss the access for Russian and Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after the publication of the IOC statement. Tkachuk also noted that the debate could be held in Bakhmut, where the IOC president was invited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On January 25, the IOC released a statement in which it admitted the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Paris Olympics as "neutral athletes." President Zelensky and…

Russian propaganda forged the Qatar Football Association's appeal to Ukraine Russian Telegram channels are spreading the fabricated appeal of the Qatar Football Association to Ukraine, driven by Zelensky's video address blocked by FIFA ahead of the World Cup finals. The publication, which was allegedly released on the official Twitter account of the Qatar Football Association, reads: if Ukraine is offended by the ban, it may withdraw from FIFA, and politics should be kept out of sports. The screenshot in the publication is fake, although a reverse Google search of the image does lead to the Qatar Football Association's official Twitter…

Ukraine is counting on UEFA's assistance in ensuring the release of Ukrainian athletes captured by Russian invasion forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote of his talks with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin on Twitter, Ukrinform reports. "Had a phone conversation with @UEFA President #Čeferin. Thanked for the solidarity with Ukraine, for the principled position and for the support in the @upl_official restart. We also count on UEFA's assistance in the liberation of captured Ukrainian athletes," Zelensky tweeted. According to President Zelenskyi, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has captured more Ukrainian military servicemen than Ukraine has Russian ones.