site.btaAlizadeh Aimed Higher than Taekwondo Bronze in Paris but Still "Fought Well for Bulgaria"

Kimia Alizadeh, who won the first Olympic taekwondo medal for Bulgaria at the Paris Games, said back in Sofia that she fought for Bulgaria and is glad she made the Bulgarians happy with her bronze medal. The Iranian-born athlete said her goal was to win the title in her 57 kg weight class, but she made a mistake in her first bout, which cost her the big dream.

"I am pleased to come back with an Olympic medal for Bulgaria," the 26-year-old commented. "A lot of training and injuries are behind this medal, and therefore I am happy that all that I put into it paid back in some way." This is Alizadeh's second Olympic podium after her bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she represented Iran.

She was welcomed in the VIP section of Sofia Airport Terminal 1 by Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation President Slavi Binev, national coach Farzad Zolghadri, young athletes and many dozens of Iranians resident in Bulgaria. Alizadeh was heaped with red roses and many excited fans took photos with her.

"I went to Paris to win the gold. I trained for the gold. I woke up with this thought every morning. But I am very happy with the medal I got, because I earned it after beating the world number one," she said.

The press asked her how it felt to face an opponent representing her native Iran at the very start of her event. She responded by saying: "Competing with an Iranian was not easy. But that is what sport is about, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. [...] She is my friend, but I had to fight for my coach, my federation and the Bulgarians."

Alizadeh said that no one from the Iranian Taekwondo Federation or the country's coaching staff try to talk to her. "No one from Iran spoke to me, but I did not wonder why. I just concentrated on the bouts."

"It was eight years after my first medal in Rio, during which time I had many injuries. I just tried to return to the Olympic Games in the best possible way. It was a very difficult process. At the Tokyo Olympics I had just left Iran, I was on the refugee team, and I was not completely concentrated. Now, I was able to enjoy myself more and to win a medal for Bulgaria. I am honoured to bring the first medal for Bulgaria in this sport. I know how many children are watching me, and it is a responsibility to be a role model for them. It is an honour and a responsibility to be the best for them. I hope I made them believe in themselves," Alizadeh said.

"I am a child of Iran, and that does not change. But now I am here in Bulgaria, and I am sending much love to my family and fans back in Iran. I love them and want to thank them for their support. I also thank the Bulgarians for their support, I did not expect it to be so strong. For now, I cannot say in Bulgarian anything except for 'Hello, I am Kimia'. While training for the Olympic Games, I could not learn Bulgarian better and spend more time here, but now I can do it perhaps," she said.

Later on Thursday, Alizadeh was scheduled to conduct an open training session with the national taekwondo team in Sofia.