Why corruption in “Invasport” will leave Ukraine without medals at the Deaflympics.
Three weeks before the start of the 2025 Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo, several leading players of Ukraine’s men’s national table tennis team announced they would not go to the tournament following the dismissal of head coach Mykola Zakladnyi.
In an open letter, champions and medalists Maksym Ovcharenko and Anton Veliiev wrote explicitly:
“We do not see ourselves participating in the Deaflympics without our coach… Together with Mykola Hryhorovych, we are ready for new achievements.”
This was made public on October 27, 2025.
Media and concerned bloggers have already covered this outrageous case. The dismissal took place after a meeting on October 21 with the participation of Leonid Kasitskyi, President of the Deaf Sports Federation, Oksana Skuhareva, head of the Invasport Center and Vice President of the National Committee of Sports for the Disabled of Ukraine (NKSІU), as well as other officials.
The official claims against Zakladnyi — “insufficient reporting,” “intimidation of athletes,” and personnel decisions — look far-fetched.
Sources within the team say the real reason is the officials’ desire to “take control” of the Olympic bonuses paid to athletes and the coach.
Large sums are at stake — sums the officials seem very eager to “privatize.”
As for medals for Ukraine, honor, integrity, and the careers of athletes and coaches — they seem not to care at all.
This is not the first warning sign.
In 2023, at least four well-known athletes with disabilities publicly accused the Invasport system of “kickbacks,” pressure, and the so-called “10% rule” — the demand to hand over part of their medal bonuses.
The leadership denied everything at the time, but the scandal forced them to announce internal checks.
Relations with Paralympic athletes are ruled by legal nihilism.
Or, more accurately — feudalism.
Think about it: even national-team coaches do not have copies of their contracts with the federation. They simply aren’t given them.
A fact: the men’s Deaflympic table tennis team is a unique squad whose masters of sport can successfully compete even in the “hearing” national championship.
And this is the result of consistent work by Mykola Zakladnyi, one of the most decorated specialists in Ukrainian deaf sports.
Destroying this on the eve of the Tokyo competitions (November 15–26) is a crime against common sense — and against the country’s chances for medals.
Now to the key issue.
According to my information and testimonies from national-team members (which I have recorded and documented), officials are pushing for the appointment of Andrii Hnatiuk as head coach of the men’s national team — a person with serious ethical and, in my view, criminal-legal red flags.
Here is the short background the federation prefers not to mention: after a high-profile road accident in Kyiv (a car drove onto a pedestrian area and a pedestrian was killed), Hnatiuk was suspended from the national team.
He had been accused of unsportsmanlike behavior, drug use, and displaying firearms on social media.
Later, in 2019, he was reinstated — and that is when, according to athletes and coaches, systematic extortion of young players began: demands to hand over part or even all prize money from commercial tournaments, as well as “skimming” funds allocated for food.
(These episodes are based on athletes’ testimonies; I will formally present more details to law enforcement.)
A separate story concerns junior European medalist Daniil B., who, according to his family and national-team members, was forced into credit operations under pressure from the coach.
I have screenshots of messages where the coach demands confirmation of issued loans, and a video recording showing psychological pressure and threats to cut the athlete off from competitions and training.
The athlete’s mother is ready to testify.
Hnatiuk repeatedly took out loans in the name of athlete Daniil B.
The first incident occurred without Daniil’s involvement at all — at that moment, his phone was in someone else’s hands.
The obtained loans are not being repaid by Hnatiuk; instead, he demands that Daniil pay everything himself, including expenses for tournaments in which Hnatiuk has no involvement whatsoever.
Later, there was another attempt to issue a loan. Daniil saw a notification on his phone and did not respond to Hnatiuk, which is visible in the screenshots. After that, Hnatiuk began calling dozens of times, issuing threats and acting agitated.
The video shows Hnatiuk, using his authority as a youth-team coach, applying psychological pressure on the athlete.
Among the documented episodes:
“Send the money, I’ll return it, what’s the problem,” Hnatiuk demands;
“Why are you ignoring me? It’s disrespectful,” he scolds the athlete;
When Daniil asks when previous loans will be repaid, Hnatiuk replies that it is “not a problem” (even though Daniil is the one paying the interest);
Hnatiuk makes a crude hand gesture that, in sign language, means either a strike or an insult — after which Daniil became extremely frightened;
Threat: to cut Daniil off from competitions and training;
Demand: to give Hnatiuk part of the money earned at commercial tournaments;
Threat: that if Daniil moves to Poltava for training, “big problems will start.”
After the stress caused by interactions with this “coach,” the talented young man — a multiple medalist at top-level competitions — left the sport permanently.
I emphasize: deaf athletes are an extremely vulnerable group who often feel defenseless in the face of the system.
Such actions (if confirmed by investigation) show signs of a crime.
Today I publicly state: I am filing a criminal complaint regarding the actions of Andrii Hnatiuk with the National Police and the Office of the Prosecutor General under Articles 189 (extortion), 190 (fraud), and 355 (coercion to fulfill civil obligations) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and I ask for the following:
register a criminal proceeding;
take testimonies from athletes and their parents;
seize and preserve electronic evidence (screenshots, videos, correspondence);
ensure protection of witnesses and complainants;
suspend any personnel decisions concerning Hnatiuk until the checks are completed.
I also recommend that other athletes and parents affected by this “coach” seek legal assistance and officially submit statements or explanations.
If necessary, I am ready to provide legal support.
Mr. Matvii Bidnyi, I urge you to intervene immediately: suspend decisions that may sabotage the national team’s participation in Tokyo and initiate an independent audit of decisions made by Invasport and the Deaf Sports Federation in recent years.
Publicity and transparency are the only way to restore trust.