The 11th international squash championship “Zenit Black Sea Open 2021” took place in Odesa. The competition was attended by players from England, Australia, Germany, Wales, Egypt, Romania, the United States, Moldova, Belarus and other countries, as well as sportsmen from Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytsky, Poltava, Kherson, Odesa.
The winner in the PRO category among men (the main category of the tournament) was squash player from Egypt Ahmed Mohamed, and among women in the PRO category the first place was taken by Anastasiya Kostiukova from Ukraine.
The tournament had been held for four days on the courts of the SPORT LIFE fitness center.
The organizers of the tournament, Dmytro Scherbakov and Maksim Urakin, previously stated the need to popularize squash in particular and sports in general through organizing tournaments and attracting Ukrainian business to support sports. The main goal of the tournament, according to the organizers, was to strengthen sports and cultural ties between the countries and sports players, to popularize and develop squash in Ukraine, as well as to improve the skill level of young squash players.
Some 150 participants competed for awards in eight categories. The winners of the competition became:
Men (PRO Category):
First place – Ahmed Mohamed (Egypt);
Second place – Clegg David (Australia);
Third place – Dmytro Scherbakov Jr. (Ukraine).
Women (PRO Category):
First place – Anastasiya Kostiukova (Ukraine);
Second place – Sofiya Zrazhevska (Ukraine);
Third place – Olga Khmelevskaya (Belarus).
Men (Amateurs category):
First place – Oleksiy Alekseyenko (Ukraine);
Second place – Jack Lake (England);
Third place – Yevhen Popko (Ukraine).
Men (Category 40+):
First place – Kostiantyn Rybalchenko (Ukraine);
Second place – Tymofiy Zheludkov (Ukraine);
Third place – Thornton Ben (England).
Men (Category 45+):
First place – Viktor Kovalchuk (Ukraine);
Second place – Oleksandr Kostevych (Ukraine);
Third place – Dmytro Baluta (Ukraine).
Women (Amateurs category):
First place – Olha Zadorozhna (Ukraine);
Second place – Maryana Batrshina (Ukraine);
Third place – Valentyna Khomovska (Ukraine).
Youth tournament (Category BU-15):
First place – Roman Shkarupylo (Ukraine);
Second place – Artem Panchenko (Ukraine);
Third place – Danylo Kuryliak (Ukraine).
Category GU-15:
First place – Anastasiya Krykun (Ukraine);
Second place – Yelyzaveta Suprun (Ukraine);
Third place – Khrystyna Beheba (Ukraine).
Tournament organizers and sponsors:
Zenit Black Sea Open is the largest international squash tournament in the history of independent Ukraine. The scale of the championship is demonstrated both by the number of countries and participants, and by the large number of organizations involved in the preparation and holding of competitions.
The main organizer and fitness partner of the event was traditionally the national chain of fitness centers number one “Sport Life,” as well as the MaxEvents company.
The title sponsor was the SOCAR fuel and energy company.
The championship is sponsored by SOLARIS AGROLUX, Tecnifibre, Reima.
Official beer of the tournament is from TERMOPUB.
Official wine partner is SHABO.
The partner of the party and the hotel of the tournament is Premier Hotel Odesa.
The medical partner of the championship is the Adonis medical group.
The fruit partner is USPA fruit.
The main media partner of the tournament is Interfax-Ukraine.
MAXEVENTS, ODESA, SCHERBAKOV, SHABO, SOCAR, SPORTS, SQUASH, URAKIN, ZENIT_BLACK_SEA_OPEN, АДОНИС
The 11th International Squash Championship “Zenit Black Sea Open 2021” will take place in Odessa from August 19 to August 22, 2021. The venue will be the SPORT LIFE fitness center at 2 Heavenly Hundred Avenue. The competition will be held with the assistance of the Squash Federation.
In four days of the tournament, some 150 participants will compete for awards in eight categories:
Men – PRO, Amateurs, M40+ and M45+,
Women – PRO and Amateurs,
Juniors – boys and girls under the age of 15.
Organizer of the tournament Dmytro Scherbakov said the main goal of the tournament is to strengthen sports ties between countries and athletes in post COVID-19 period, to develop squash in Ukraine, and to increase the skill level of young squash players.
Co-organizer of the Zenit Black Sea Open 2021 tournament Maksym Urakin said that physical culture and sports in our country need the support from both the government and benefactors.
“The government has almost removed from the development of targeted programs of sports support, we thank our partners and businessmen benefactors for their assistance; athletes and sections, and, therefore, sports of the highest achievements, cannot do without the synergy of the government and business,” Urakin said.
Players from England, Australia, Germany, Wales, Egypt, Romania, the United States, Moldova, Belarus, other countries, as well as athletes from Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytsky, Poltava, Kherson and Odesa will participate in the competition.
The tournament is scheduled to open on Thursday, August 19, and the award ceremony will take place on Sunday, August 22, at the five-star Premier Hotel Odesa.
Zenit Black Sea Open is the largest international squash tournament in the history of independent Ukraine. The scale of the championship is demonstrated both by the number of countries and participants, and by the large number of organizations involved in the preparation and holding of competitions.
The main organizer and fitness partner of the event was traditionally the national chain of fitness centers number one “Sport Life,” as well as the MaxEvents company.
The title sponsor was the SOCAR fuel and energy company.
The championship are sponsored by SOLARIS AGROLUX, Tecnifibre, Reima.
Official beer of the tournament is from TERMOPUB.
Official wine partner is SHABO.
The partner of the party and the hotel of the tournament is Premier Hotel Odesa.
The medical partner of the championship is the ADONIS medical group.
The fruit partner is USPA fruit.
The main media partner of the tournament is Interfax-Ukraine.
ADONIS, MAXEVENTS, ODESA, SCHERBAKOV, SHABO, SOCAR, SPORTS, SQUASH, URAKIN, ZENIT_BLACK_SEA_OPEN
Odesa to host Zenit Black Sea Open 2020 international squash championship
The 10th international squash championship Zenit Black Sea Open 2020 will take place at the Sport Life fitness center in Odesa on August 20-23, 2020.
The competition will be held with the aim of strengthening sports and cultural ties between countries and athletes, promotion and development of squash in Ukraine, as well as improvement of junior athletes’ skills.
The tournament will be held for four days in eight categories:
Men: PRO, Amateur, M40+ and M45+
Women: PRO, Amateur
Juniors: GU13, BU13
The total number of participants is 150 people.
The tournament will bring together athletes from Ukraine (Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Kherson and Odesa), Belarus, the United States, the UK and South Africa.
The venue address: Odesa, 2 Nebesnoyi Sotni (Heavenly Hundred) Avenue.
The tournament will start at 13:00 on August 20.
The final part of the tournament and the awarding ceremony will start at 21:00 on August 23.
Zenit Black Sea Open 2020 is the most well-known and largest international tournament in the history of independent Ukraine. It brings together a large number of participants representing many countries, as well as numerous organizations involved in the preparations for and holding the competition.
The main organizers of the event are the national chain of fitness clubs Sport Life, which is also a fitness partner of the tournament, as well as Dmytro Scherbakov and Maksym Urakin.
Official sponsors are Kronplast, Solaris Agrolux, MaxEvent and FORT&M.
General information partner of the tournament is the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency.
The prizes and gifts will be provided by Li-Ning, Tecnifibre, Reima, GORA Hotel, Sweet Arte, and More Emotions.
The tournament’s drinking water supplier is Krayna.
The party partner is M1 Club Hotel.
We eagerly await you at our championship and will do our best to hold it successfully.
SEE YOU ON COURTS!
Over 150 players from 12 countries took part in the Zenit Black Sea Open international annual tournament. Due to such a large number of players, the matches were held simultaneously on three courts of Sport Life organizer’s club and two courts of the Formula fitness club.
Almost all the best players of the country, as well as foreign delegations of athletes gathered at the most legendary tournament in Ukraine. Traditionally, the championship was visited by strong guests from the country of the founders of squash – England. For the first time in the history of Ukraine, it was at Zenit that the Masters 40+ and 45+ categories of men debuted. Thus, Zenit has already set Ukraine’s third squash record. So, in 2007, for the first time, it was at Zenit that the PSA debut tournament took place, in 2013 there was a debut of the children’s tournament under the auspices of ESF Zenit Junior Open, and this year the Masters categories started at the Zenit Black Sea.
The main organizer and fitness partner of the event traditionally was the national network of fitness clubs N1 Sport Life.
Many thanks to all the companies and people involved in organizing the tournament, namely:
Kronplast company represented by Andriy Sydorenko, Solaris Agrolux represented by Illia Shlayer, Li-Ning company represented by Artem Shandybin, Tecnifibre (http://tecnifibre.kiev.ua/) represented by Dmytro Scherbakov, Reima represented by Oleksiy Baryshnikov, Contigo represented by Halyna Dzhandan, Sweet Arte company represented by Oleksiy Kostiukov, More Emotions company represented by Iryna Lychak, the Ukrainain Squash Federation and the Interfax-Ukraine news agency represented by Maksim Urakin, MaxEvents company represented by Yekateryna Urakina.
We thank the Krayna mineral water and the Kompot chain of cafe for the treats.
The party and the award ceremony took place on the seashore in the beautiful club restaurant M1 Club Hotel (https://m1clubhotel.com/en).
Many thanks to Oleksiy Usenko and Mark Burden for financial assistance.
We thank Roman Dribny hosting the event and super impersonator Anatoliy Yurchenko for bright emotions!
The organizing committee of the tournament: Yuriy Maltsev, Serhiy Zakomlistov, Oleksandr Kostevych, Kostiantyn Reshetniak, Iryna Yakovenko, Maria Peltek, Tetiana Makivska.
See you in a year at the jubilee tenth Zenit Black Sea Open 2020 tournament!
The winners of the Zenit Black Sea Open 2019 tournament:
PSA Category Men
1. Ahmed Mohamed (Egypt)
2. Fedoruk Valeriy (Ukraine)
3. Khapun Vasiliy (Romania)
PSA Category Women
1. Usenko Nadiya (Ukraine)
2. Kostiukova Anastasia (Ukraine)
3. Kotova Olha (Ukraine)
Category Amateurs Men
1. Thornton Ben (England)
2. Popko Yevhen (Ukraine)
3. Laukart Yuliy (Ukraine)
Category 45+
1. Kovalchuk Viktor (Ukraine)
2. Kostevych Oleksandr (Ukraine)
3. Maltsev Yuriy (Ukraine)
Category Amateurs Women
1. Onegova Alexandra (Russia)
2. Strelnikova Olesya (Russia)
3. Yegorova Lyudmila (Russia)
Category BU-13
1. Khlus Nikita (Ukraine)
2. Scherbakov Yehor (Ukraine)
3. Panchenko Artem (Ukraine)
Category GU-13
1. Beheba Khrystyna (Ukraine)
2. Krykun Anastasia (Ukraine)
3. Suprun Yelizaveta (Ukraine)
Category BU-15
1. Scherbakov Dmytro-junior (Ukraine)
2. Zhivotovsky Yaroslav (Ukraine)
3. Hluschenko Lukyan (Ukraine)
Category 40+
1. Zheludkov Tymofiy (Ukraine)
2. Baluta Dmytro (Ukraine)
3. Sydorenko Andriy (Ukraine)
The main information partner of the tournament is Interfax-Ukraine.
The Ukrainian men’s national squash team has won a bronze medal in the European Team Championships Division 3 in Lisbon (Portugal), the Squash Federation of Ukraine has said on its website.
The Ukrainian squad defeated the Norwegian team with a 2-1 score in the match for the third place.
Squash veterans Kostiantyn Rybalchenko and Valeriy Fedoruk, along with young members Yaroslav Bagan, Dmytro Pogrebniak, and Artur Sikora were members of Ukraine’s team.
Team statistics and the final tally are below:
Playoffs matches
Match for places 1-8
Ukraine – Slovenia: 4-0
Valeriy Fedoruk – Martin Mosnik, 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5)
Yaroslav Bagan – Mark Hafner, 3-1 (11-13, 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7)
Kostiantyn Rybalchenko – Blaž Porenta, 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-8)
Artur Sikora – Jošt Dolinar, 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-5)
Match for places 1-8
Ukraine – Poland: 1-2
Valery Fedoruk – Adam Pelczynski, 3-1 (11-3, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3)
Yaroslav Bagan – Adrian Marszał, 0-3 (4-11, 4-11, 2-11)
Kostiantyn Rybalchenko – Piotr Hemmerling, 2-2 (11–4, 5–11, 17–15, 8–11)
Artur Sikora – Filip Jarota, 0-3 (8-11, 9-11, 9-11)
Match for 3rd place
Ukraine –Norway: 2-1
Valeriy Fedoruk – Sindre S. Roaldsøy, 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-4)
Yaroslav Bagan – Trym Aasness, 0-3 (7-11, 3-11, 8-11)
Kostiantyn Rybalchenko – Gard Aasness, 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-5)
Artur Sikora – Patrick Hansen, 2-2 (7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8)
The final standing of the teams:
Poland
Austria
Ukraine
Norway
Russia
Luxembourg
Slovenia
Malta
The development and popularization of squash in Ukraine is promising, CEO of the World Squash Federation Andrew Shelley has stated.
“There are good squash courts in Ukraine and new ones are coming in. Your young squash federation is doing a good job, therefore you have everything. Squash in Ukraine is moving forward,” he said during his visit to Ukraine.
Shelley noted squash does not require large financial resources.
“This is a great sport, and the more people try to play it, the more will be involved,” he said.
Multiple world squash champion Ramy Ashour and six-time European champion Camille Serme visited Ukraine within the worldwide program for squash development “Ambassador WSF 2018” on June 23-24.
Coach and referee seminars, demonstration matches, thematic conferences, the sparring and training of the Ukrainian men’s and women’s squash teams with the leading world players, trainings for children from the children’s squash academy were held in Kyiv within the framework of this program.
“More than 20 million people play squash all over the world. In Ukraine their number amounts to thousands. We have room for improvement, and we really are developing. Squash is appreciated as an entertaining sport and an excellent relaxation for amateur sportsmen. We are grateful to the World Squash Federation for including our country in the program of squash popularization and teamwork,” the program coordinator, Vice President of the Ukrainian Squash Federation Maksim Urakin said.
Squash is a sport with a ball and a racket played indoors. The game is conducted by special rackets on a court surrounded by walls from four sides. In 2003 the Forbes magazine recognized squash as one of the most “healthy sports” both in terms of injury rate and the most energy-consuming sport in the world by the number of calories burned. More than 20 million people around the world play squash.
photo by Larisa Okhtienko
