From August 27 to 30, the Hungarian capital of Budapest hosted the 31st WAKO Kickboxing World Cup, where the Ukrainian national team achieved a historic result by winning the overall team standings for the first time. Ukrainian kickboxers earned a total of 154 medals: 61 gold, 38 silver and 55 bronze.
Athletes from the Donetsk region made a significant contribution to the national team’s triumph, winning 9 medals and demonstrating high skill, endurance, and a thirst for victory in the international ring and on the tatami.
Pavlo Mykhailytsa, a representative of the Kostiantynivka community, won “gold” in the K-1 division in the weight class up to 81 kg. On his way to the top step of the podium, the athlete – who was trained by coaches Denys Kharkin and Ivan Zinchenko – defeated strong opponents from Latvia, Poland and Norway.
Representatives of the Kurakhove community added two more medals to Donetsk oblast’s tally. Mark Gusar won the full-contact division in the under-71-kg weight class, defeating opponents from Slovakia and Norway in hard-fought bouts. The champion’s coaches are Artem Driga and Yuriy Gusar. Rinat Askerov won “silver” in full-contact in the under-57-kg category, losing in the final to another Ukrainian competitor. The athlete trains under the guidance of Artem Driga and Vladyslav Gida.
Representatives of the Pokrovsk community won a total of six medals. Svyatoslav Yaroshovets demonstrated remarkable endurance, competing in six matches on the tatami, which earned him two gold and one bronze medal. Glib Kharchenko endured eight intense bouts and earned a gold and a silver medal. Yulia Chekhovska took silver in the full-contact division in the under-52-kg weight class.
Svyatoslav Yaroshovets, Glib Kharchenko and Yulia Chekhovska were trained by coach Samir Mekhbaliyev, who also competed in the World Cup. In the kick-light division in the under-79-kg weight class, he confidently defeated a competitor from Australia, but in his next bout, he lost to a kickboxer from Italy, falling just short of the podium.