site.btaDeputy PM Zafirov Awards Champions at National Taekwondo Championship in Plovdiv

Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov personally awarded Sunday some of the champions at the National Taekwondo Championship held over the weekend at Sila Hall. Zafirov congratulated all attendees and competitors, wishing the champions continued success.

"It is a great honour for me to be here today among you at this National Championship, which includes nearly 2,000 participants. With your achievements, you demonstrate that this sport is moving in the right direction. I want to assure you that the Bulgarian government and the ministry will stand by you in this battle to establish the sport in Bulgaria and develop these outstanding athletes," Zafirov said to the athletes, coaches, and parents present.

Zafirov awarded the champions in the cadet class A, where athletes from Taekwondo Club Neron topped the podium, followed by Taekwondo Club Gladiator (Dupnitsa) and Taekwondo Club Sung-ri (Botevgrad). Trophies and medals were also presented to the top three in class B.

Nearly 2,000 participants took part in this year’s National Championship, held in Plovdiv. The event was officially opened by two-time Olympic champion Nikolay Bukhalov, in the presence of the first Olympic taekwondo champion Michael Mouroutsos, representatives of the European Taekwondo Union, newly elected chair of the Turkish federation Bahri Tanrıkulu, chair of the swimming federation Georgi Avramchev, Member of Parliament Halil Letifov, and many other prominent sports figures.