Bulgaria finished fifth in the overall nations’ standings at the European Kickboxing Championships for men and women in Skopje, North Macedonia. The Bulgarian representatives won a total of 26 medals — 10 gold, 5 silver and 11 bronze — placing us immediately behind the larger teams of Hungary, Türkiye, Italy and Great Britain.
On the final day of the championships in the capital of our southwestern neighbour, Diyan Dimitrov, Atanas Atanasov and Ali Yuzeir triumphed with European titles in their respective K1 categories. Dimitrov, who represents Desant Club, won the final in the up-to-67 kg category against Czech representative Lukas Hudler. His winning example was followed by Atanas Atanasov. The Shumenska Krepost Club competitor triumphed in the up-to-71 kg category after defeating Furkan Arda of Türkiye. A dramatic turn of events in the 86 kg final brought European gold to Ali Yuzeir. The representative of Vokil Club won the fiercely contested bout against France’s Hassan Hamilcaro with a comeback in the closing seconds.
Bulgaria triumphed with the team title in women’s Point Fighting. On their way to first place, Hristina Andonova, Kalina Boyadzhieva, Aleksandra Georgieva and Monika Petkova recorded four consecutive victories over the teams of Norway, Hungary, favourites Italy and Great Britain.
Individual honours in Skopje went to Kalina Boyadzhieva, who was named the best female tatami competitor, and Hristo Kalaydzhiev, who was named the best ring judge. Boyadzhieva won two gold medals in the +70 kg category in Point Fighting and Light Contact.
There was another accolade for our country after Hristo Marinov was awarded a Class A judging licence by the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO). This means that Bulgaria has 7 of the 105 referees worldwide holding this class. In a conversation with Mario Ivanov, president of the Bulgarian Kickboxing and Muay Thai Confederation, the federation’s technical director Sami Savo said that Bulgarian judges in ring disciplines are among the elite in global kickboxing.