🥈 Ukraine Claims Silver at the CEV U18 European Championships 2026!

On their way to the final, Shkurat/Vapniar successfully progressed through the group stage and the knockout rounds. They defeated France's Delporte/Mir 2:0, Switzerland's Probst/Wiedmer 2:0, and then overcame Norway's Straumstøyl/Finholth 2:0 in the quarterfinals.

The semifinal against Hungary's Honti-Majoros/Pádár proved to be one of their toughest matches. The Ukrainians secured a three-set victory — 2:1 (21:12, 19:21, 15:12) — to book their place in the final.

In the gold-medal match, Shkurat/Vapniar faced the Netherlands' Both/de Groot for the second time in the tournament. The Dutch pair won the final 2–0 (21–19, 21–14).

As a result, Mariia Shkurat and Marharyta Vapniar finished the European Championships in 2nd place, earning 230 ranking points.

The team's coaches are Vasyl and Liubov Bukiny.

🇺🇦 In the men's competition, Ukraine was represented by Andrii Merkulov / Andrii Shulhin. The Ukrainian pair finished the championship in 13th place.

Their coach is Anna Merkulova.

👏 Congratulations to our athletes and coaches on their performance at the European Championships, and we wish them many more victories on the international stage!

Keep the ball in play! 🇺🇦 Glory to Ukraine!