Ukrainian Team's Performance at the Sambo World Cup
Competing in Larnaca, the Ukrainian national team secured a remarkable total of 25 medals at the Sambo World Cup stage, claiming the top team spot in every single category. The athletes' outstanding performance yielded 24 gold medals and 1 silver. Sambo, a martial art originating in the Soviet Union, is a point of significant national pride and development in Ukraine.
Results by Age Category
Ukraine also secured first place in the team standings for boys and girls (16–18 years old). The gold medalists in this youth category were:
- Liliia Yazykova (59 kg, Sumy Oblast)
- Karina Raus (65 kg, Kyiv)
- Valeriia Kanikovska (72 kg, Odesa Oblast)
- Ivan Matskiv (58 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast)
- Rostyslav Horychyi (64 kg, Lviv Oblast)
- Roman Harbuz (71 kg, Odesa Oblast)
Among juniors (18–20 years old), Ukraine once again led the field, earning the top team position. The junior gold medalists were:
- Anastasiia Shliomka (54 kg, Kharkiv Oblast)
- Violetta Kumechko (59 kg, Zhytomyr Oblast)
- Anastasiia Yeromina (72 kg, Mykolaiv Oblast)
- Diana Lutsiak (+80 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast)
- Karen Baranovskyi (58 kg, Kharkiv Oblast)
- Volodymyr Svidrak (79 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast)
- Andrii Voityshenko (88 kg, Vinnytsia Oblast)
In the senior men's and women's category, Ukraine also finished in first place. The senior gold medalists are:
- Mariia Buiok (50 kg, Chernihiv Oblast)
- Sniazhana Plish (54 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast)
- Diana Tulunzhi (65 kg, Odesa Oblast)
- Anastasiia Shevchenko (72 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast/Kharkiv Oblast)
- Halyna Kovalska (80 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast)
- Andrii Laishchuk (58 kg, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast)
- Maksym Lutskyk (79 kg, Khmelnytskyi Oblast)
- Bohdan Tsysar (88 kg, Khmelnytskyi Oblast)
- Maksym Razhonov (98 kg, Khmelnytskyi Oblast)
- Vladyslav Kyrylchuk (no weight limit 58 kg, Vinnytsia Oblast)
- Yevhen Makarov (no weight limit 98 kg, Volyn Oblast)
The silver medal in the senior category was won by Yuliia Zasulska (50 kg, Poltava Oblast).
This dominant showing at the World Cup highlights the high level of training within Ukrainian sambo and is expected to boost the sport's popularity domestically. The impressive results across all age groups underscore the promising potential of the nation's athletes, which bodes well for the future development of sambo in Ukraine. The athletes now look ahead to future competitions where they will aim to reaffirm these achievements and contend for more medals.