Hanna Vasylenko won the first medal in 2011 Senior World Championship in female wrestling on Sept. 15 in Istanbul. Competing in the weight category under 59 kg, Vasylenko defeated Sofia Mattson from Sweden with the score 2:2, 2:1.
Some 900 competitors representing 104 nations travelled to Istanbul with the goal to win the first qualification places for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Vasylenko, however, won in the non-Olympic category.
In the semi-final she managed to defeat Europe’s champion Sonya Ahmadli from Ayzerbaydzhan. Bronze medals in the same qualification went to Japanese Tokako Sayto and Sonya Ahmadli from Azerbaidzhan.
Another Ukrainian representative Tatyana Lazareva, competing in the weight category under 55 kg, was the first Ukrainian in female wrestling to be awarded an Olympic license.
Despite losing to silver-medalist Canadian Tonya Verbik, Lazareva took a third place beating Russian Mariya Gurova. The victory in this category went Saori Yoshida from Japan.
