Ukraine's Marta Kostiuk reaches Olympic tennis quarter-finals, but heartbreak for Elina Svitolina

Ukraine's Marta Kostiuk has reached the tennis quarter-finals at the 2024 Olympics, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece in three sets on July 30.

Kostiuk won 4:6, 7:6, 6:4, and will play Croatia's Donna Vekich in the next round on July 31.

Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Ukraine's Elina Svitolina who failed to progress to the quarter-finals.

She was beaten by Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, losing 6:7, 6:2, 4:6.

Ukraine won its first medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 29, when fencer Olga Kharlan took bronze in the women's individual saber event.

The 33-year-old beat South Korea's Choi Se-bin 15-14 in a fiercely contested match.

Kharlan made her way to the Olympic semi-finals beating Japan's Shihomi Fukushima, Azerbaijan's Anna Bashta and Hungary's Anna Marton, before losing to France's Sarah Balzer.

The bronze makes her Ukraine's equal-most decorated Olympian in history by number of medals, and the first Ukrainian to win medals in four separate Games.

Ukrainian athletes who will never have a chance to compete at the Olympics
Audiences from across the world tuning into the Olympics kicking off with this Friday’s opening ceremony in Paris should, as they enjoy the show, be conscious of why Ukraine will not be fully represented this summer – and at future athletic competitions. Among the tens of thousands of Ukrainians ki…