site.btaTennis Player Novak Djokovic Wins Balkan Athlete Title for Fifth Year Running

Tennis Player Novak Djokovic Wins Balkan Athlete Title for Fifth Year Running

Sofia, January 14 (BTA) - ATP No. 1 player Novak Djokovic was chosen as the Balkan Athlete of the Year 2015 in the 43rd edition of the poll of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), made public here on Thursday.

The traditional poll was joined by the national news agencies of the Balkan countries: BTA, Bulgaria, ANA-MPA, Greece, AGERPRES, Romania, the Anatolian Agency, Turkey, TANJUG, Serbia, MINA, Montenegro, MIA, Macedonia, HINA, Croatia, FENA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and ATA, Albania.

The top three ranking included Eleftherios Petrounias (Greece) and Amel Tuka (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

With 90 points Djokovic topped the poll for the fifth time, on a par with current Bulgarian Olympic Committee Chair Stefka Kostadinova who ranked first in 1985, 1987, 1995, 1996 and 1997.

A total of 40 athletes were nominated to take part in the poll.

The top ten in the poll are as follows:

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - tennis, 90 points.
2. Eleftherios Petrounias (Greece) - artistic gymnastics, 45 pts.
3. Amel Tuka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - athletics, 37 pts.
4. Simona Halep (Romania) - tennis, 32 pts.
5. Taha Akgul (Turkey) - freestyle wrestling, 30 pts.
6. Stanilia Stamenova (Bulgaria) - canoe-kayak, 28 pts.
7. Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) - Greco-Roman wrestling, 26 pts.
8. Sandra Perkovic (Croatia) - athletics, 24 pts.
9. Ivan Rakitic (Croatia) - football, 20 pts.
10. Daniel Asenov (Bulgaria) - boxing, 18 pts.