site.bta2024 IBSA Showdown European Championship Kicks Off in Sofia

The 2024 IBSA Showdown European Championship opened in Sofia on Wednesday evening. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has provided his auspices for the event, which involves entrants from 16 countries, the President's press secretariat reported.

Showdown is a sport designed for people with a visual impairment. It has similarities to table tennis and air hockey.

In his opening speech, Radev said that, with the power of their spirit, people with disabilities have shown that there are no limits to human potential, which gives everyone hope and faith.

He said: "Many people from across Europe have gathered in Bulgaria today, united around the shared mission to make our single European home more accessible to every citizen."

The President noted that showdown gives blind people confidence, independence and satisfaction and promotes their social inclusion. He urged the entrants in the European Championship to keep perceiving the world with the power of thought. "If you manage to teach this art to the seeing, it will add more meaning to the world and will make it a better place," Radev said.

Addressing the organizers, he said: "You give us hope that we live in civilized societies, because this can be judged by the way we treat children, the elderly, and particularly people with disabilities."