Bulgaria’s caretaker Minister of Youth and Sports, Georgi Glouchkov, has presented European Taekwondo champion Kimia Alizadeh with an honorary plaquette, Glouchkov’s Ministry said on Wednesday. The Iranian-born athlete received Bulgarian citizenship in April and will represent Bulgaria at the Paris Olympic Games.
"I am very glad to welcome you to the Bulgarian Olympic family," Glouchkov addressed Alizadeh. "I appreciate the efforts you put into sports on the path to making your dreams come true," he added.
The European champion thanked Glouchkov for the conditions provided by the state. "I am happy that I won the European title for Bulgaria. I hope I can do the same in Paris," she said.
Alizadeh arrived in Sofia hours after her success on the continental stage but will be getting back to her Olympic preparations, which are scheduled to take place in the UK.
The athlete’s coach, Davoud Etminani, and the head coach of the Bulgarian Taekwondo national team, Farzad Zolghadri, also attended the meeting hosted by the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Alizadeh is one of the biggest stars in world taekwondo. She was third at the 2016 Rio Olympics and came in fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"Kimia is an amazing person and an amazing competitor. Colleagues say we have made the transfer of the century," said Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation President Slavi Binev.
/MR/
