Fighters from the Bushido club in Nessebar won three gold medals at the Romanian Open, an international contact karate tournament in Bucharest, Nessebar council said. Two of them, Volodymyr Kurtov and Rejeb Hazim, also won a silver medal each.
Mari Malcheva took the girls' under-14 title in the under-55kg class. She reached the final without much trouble and was stronger than her rivals.
Volodymyr Kurtov won gold among children under 10 in the under-35kg class. Rejeb Hazim won the heavyweight class, over 45kg, for children under 9.
Organisers let the club's fighters enter a second category and compete against older fighters too. Contact karate does not normally allow this when both bouts are on the same day. Hazim took silver in the heavyweight class for children under 10. Kurtov, who weighs 29kg, also came second in the lighter under-30kg class.
Sensei Lachezar Dimitrov led the team in Romania. He is pleased with how well the fighters did.
"We are extremely proud of our young karate fighters, who have once again made the name of Nessebar famous," said mayor Nikolay Dimitrov. He said the results confirm the club's place among the most successful in the region.
The council will keep backing Bushido and will put money into sports facilities to motivate the fighters and help them improve, the mayor promised.