The world champion refused to stand on the same podium as the Russian, turned around and left. Video

After the award ceremony at the Youth Karate League in Venice, the second place winner Maria Gnes (Chernivtsi, Leader club) and the bronze medalist Hanna Vashchyshyn (Lviv, Union club) refused to participate in a joint photo shoot with Russian Veronika Gashnikova, who won the 53 kg category.

After the awarding ceremony, the photographer asked the girls to gather in one place for a joint photo. The 15-year-old Gnes silently turned around and left, gesturing that she was not going to share the podium with the Russian representative.

As a result, only the second bronze medalist, Katerina Novakova from the Czech Republic, joined Ganschikova.

Mariia's father serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and her gesture has become a symbol of support for the country in times of war.

"Maria has shown that her fight on the tatami is not only a sport, but also patriotism and steadfastness," the press service of the Ukrainian Karate Federation said in a statement.

It is worth noting that Hanna Vashchyshyn lost to Maria in the quarterfinals (3:3), and then won a bronze medal in the consolation round.

We would like to remind you that Gnes became the world cadet champion in October in Venice. At the start of the championship, Maria was ranked only 44th in the world ranking of cadets in the category of up to 54 kg. However, this did not prevent her from going through a difficult path to the final, where she defeated rivals from the top 6 in the world rankings, including the second, third and sixth karateka.

In the final fight, Gnes confidently defeated the fifth-ranked athlete.

Commenting on her success, Mariia admitted that she has been practicing karate for 10 years and started at the age of 5. Her next goal is the Youth Olympic Games in 2026.

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