Burgas Residents Dimitar Topalov and Nikolai Atanasov Awarded as Honored Coaches

During the National Muay Thai Championship in Varna, the atmosphere was electrified by the tension of the competitions and the joy of the upcoming awards. Amidst this atmosphere, two residents of Burgas, Dimitar Topalov and Nikolay Atanasov, received the deserved recognition – the title of "Honored Coach".

A deserved recognition for coaches who have dedicated years of work in the field of sports.

For Dimitar Topalov, this should have happened back in 2011, and for Nikolay Atanasov – in 2017. Despite the delay, the recognition came, reflecting the extremely high results that the two coaches have achieved in the sport.

Dimitar Topalov remains in history as the coach who built Stoyan Koprivlenski as a competitor. To this day, the two maintain contact, with Koprivlenski seeking advice from Topalov for his upcoming matches. On the other hand, Nikolay Atanasov is the coach thanks to whom Koprivlenski became the world muay thai champion in Bangkok.

An interesting fact is that Topalov was Nikolay Atanasov's coach during his active competitive career. It was under Topalov's leadership that Atanasov achieved the most successes, including European and several times vice-world champion in muay thai, as well as an award from the World Kickboxing Championship.

Among Dimitar Topalov's achievements is also the coaching work with Yordan Yankov – three-time world and European muay thai champion and medalist from world and European kickboxing championships for men. He was also the coach of Zlatka Dimitrova – world muay thai champion for women. Nikolay Atanasov, for his part, trained Atanas Bozhilov – world kickboxing champion for professionals at WAKO PRO, KGP. Bozhilov is also a European champion at SENSHI, as well as a medalist from world and European kickboxing championships.

We cannot overlook the students of the two coaches, whose names have become a symbol of success. Among them are Georgi Dalakmanov and Ventsislav Bachvarov – world and European muay thai champions for juniors, as well as Stanislav Valchev – world and European muay thai champion for men. Petar Stoykov, who later developed his sports career in Sofia, is also among the students, becoming a world muay thai champion and SENSHI CUP winner before returning to Burgas.

The two coaches worked together in the "Samurai" sports club, headed by chairman Nikolay Rachev. As of today, Dimitar Topalov is not actively participating in the training process, but continues to consult high-level competitors, such as Stoyan Koprivlenski. Nikolay Atanasov, for his part, is developing his own muay thai and kickboxing club "Fight Factory" and is actively preparing Bozhilov and Stoykov, as well as the young promising competitor Dimitar Nikolov, who won a medal at the World Kickboxing Cup in Budapest in June.