1993: the first junior world gold
Serhii Krasovskyi, coached by Mykhailo Bohun, won at the first junior world championship. Volodymyr Dubtsov was Ukraine’s senior team coach. Following the independent national team’s debut at the senior world championship, the Ukrainian school now had a junior title as well.
That year, Shevket Vaniiev became Asian champion. His later competitive and coaching career would develop in Feodosia and Crimea. Born in Toytepa, Uzbekistan, in July 1974, he began Taekwon-Do at 16 and entered an Olympic reserve school in 1991. He brought experience from another strong school into Ukraine’s community.
1994: the Ukrainian Cup in Luhansk and world bronze
The Luhansk federation organised the Ukrainian Cup with master Han Chol attending. The home team finished second. At the world championship in Malaysia, Albert Dunda won bronze in power breaking. The regional centre was developing its own competition infrastructure while preparing athletes for the world stage.
Oleh Petrovskyi took over the Kharkiv regional federation and led it until 1999. Its mid-decade network included Sombre, Tornado and Impuls, each developing its own coaching team.
1995: the Volyn federation and new centres
Lutsk became Oleksandr Kinakh’s next centre of activity. In 1995, he registered the Volyn Taekwon-Do ITF federation. His experience of training in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv and Drohobych supported the development of a local network. Classes gradually spread to Novovolynsk, Horokhiv, Sarny and Rivne; the Rivne network later developed independently.
Kharkiv’s Oleksii Korovin won European bronze. International medals were now coming from different generations of athletes trained in Ukrainian clubs.
Uk Dara Chan settled in Berezan. He had arrived from Phnom Penh in 1987 to study at Kyiv’s art institute. In Kyiv oblast, he combined art education with teaching children Taekwon-Do.
1996: passing experience to Ukrainian instructors
Han Chol, by then VII Dan, made his final visit to Lutsk before leaving Ukraine. Ukrainian instructors trained through his seminars, individual lessons and gradings continued his teaching work.
Vladyslav Kim captained Ukraine’s team at the world championship in Pyongyang. Experience gained at the first national competitions was growing into responsibility for a team on the international stage.
1997: teachers working together and athletes progressing
In Volyn, Oleksandr Kinakh began conducting seminars and gradings with Vladyslav Kim, IV Dan. By then, Kim had completed a series of successful national seasons, earning overall Ukrainian championship titles in 1992–1997. He passed his competitive experience to other athletes and instructors.
Svitlana Mormul won world bronze, another step towards consistent results at the highest level for the Kharkiv school.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, Kateryna Solovey made her first Ukrainian Cup appearance and finished without a medal. She had started training at 16 with Oleh Solovey, whose first Taekwon-Do teacher was Roman Lev. Their daily work together was laying the foundation of their school.
1998: First Capital and Ukrainian youth success
In Kharkiv, Volodymyr Dubtsov established the First Capital youth tournament. Its first edition attracted around 150 athletes. The event gave young competitors a regular opportunity to test their preparation and later became an international tournament.
Eight students from the Kyiv school won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the youth games in Moscow. Pavlo Kopanytsia, Ivan Karasyk and Maksym Matiushok took gold.
Vladyslav Kim won world bronze in Kuala Lumpur. His international competitive career continued alongside his work training Ukrainian instructors.
1999: champions and a changing club network
Two years after her first Cup appearance, Kateryna Solovey became Ukrainian champion. Svitlana Mormul won European bronze, while Vladyslav Kim won the Open European Cup.
The Kharkiv federation’s club network changed: Impuls left, while Yurii Raduzhan’s Way of the Dragon and Vitalii Gagarin’s Priunel joined. Individual coaching schools developed alongside changing organisational relationships.
2000: Open European Cup victories
Svitlana Mormul, Yurii Raduzhan and Vladyslav Kim won the Open European Cup. Ukrainian centres ended the decade with athletes capable of regularly competing for the highest international honours.
Valentyn Venedyktov took charge of the Kharkiv regional federation and led it until 2006. An extensive club network, established tournaments and national-team experience laid the foundation for the next stage of Ukrainian Taekwon-Do.