site.btaUPDATED Sports Minister Welcomes Bulgarian Men's Volleyball Team at Istanbul Airport

Minister of Youth and Sports Ivan Peshev welcomed the Bulgarian national volleyball team at Istanbul International Airport on Tuesday.

The Bulgarian team won silver medals at the Men's World Championship in the Philippines, which ended on Sunday. This was only the second time Bulgaria has ranked so high at the World Championship since hosting it in 1970.

To mark this great success, Peshev was sent on the government Airbus A319 to welcome the national team from Istanbul. The team is expected to arrive at Vasil Levski Airport in the capital at around 10 a.m.

"We are far from realizing what is happening. I do not know how we achieved this, but we put in a lot of hard work this summer and last summer. Everyone worked very hard throughout the year. I want to thank everyone who showed their support," said team captain Aleks Grozdanov.

"I want to express my gratitude to everyone who supported us. The tournament was not easy. It still seems unreal to me. I saw incredible support from everywhere - from Dobrich, from Varna, from Burgas, from Pazardzhik, from Sofia in front of Alexander Nevski Cathedral. I canot wait to get home and see the fans," added middle blocker Iliya Petkov.