The first international beach wrestling tournament in Bulgaria will be held on October 4th in the resort town of Sozopol, official representatives of the national federation announced. The competition will cover different age categories – boys, girls, cadets and cadet girls.
During a working meeting, the federation president Stanka Zlateva and Mayor Tihomir Yanakiev arranged the hosting of this prestigious sporting event. Zlateva emphasized the strategic importance of the initiative in view of the upcoming Youth Olympic Games, where beach wrestling is included in the official program.
According to experts' statement, the tournament is part of a large-scale plan for sport development in cooperation with the International Wrestling Federation and the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. The local sports club "Angel Gochev" plays a key role in this process.
The club can boast impressive achievements. In June, Bulgaria won four medals at the European Indoor Boys Championship, with one of the medalists - Emre Mumunov, winning silver in the 52 kg category during the championship in Italy.
Among the notable athletes is the bronze Olympic medalist Evelina Nikolova. On the international stage, Bulgaria already has significant successes – at the World Beach Games, Miglena Selishka won silver in Doha in 2019, and Sofia Georgieva took a prestigious sixth place.
Additional contribution to the sport's development comes from three international beach wrestling referees – Dimitar Chifudov, Deyan Avramov and Djeyhun Hasan, who contribute to establishing Bulgaria as a serious participant in international sporting events.