Bulgaria scored a very successful performance at the sixth European Deaf Wrestling Championships held in Tbilisi, Georgia. A total of twelve Bulgarian athletes took part in the wrestling championships. They won a total of 20 medals for Bulgaria: Ten medals were won in the men’s categories and the other ten-at the junior and cadet wrestling categories. The young Bulgarian athletes returned home with two gold, four silver and four bronze medals. Panayot Dimitrov won two gold medals at the 42 kilogram category in the Freestyle and the Greco-Roman style competition.

“The European Deaf Wrestling Championships included competitions in Greco-Roman and Classical styles. Bulgaria won fifth place at the junior category contest and third place at the men’s and the cadet categories. All leading countries in wrestling took part in this year’s championships - all Russian-speaking countries, Turkey, etc. In other words, the competition was severe”, the national team head coach Denislav Chamishki pointed out, adding that 239 athletes from 14 countries took part in the European Deaf Wrestling Championships.

The next big goal of the Bulgarian wrestlers is the World Deaf Championships in May 2016. It will be held in the Iranian capital Teheran. The World Championships and the European Championships are actually qualifiers for the forthcoming Olympics in Turkey in 2017.

The successful performance of the Bulgarian athletes is the result of their hard work and the activity of the Bulgarian Deaf Sports Federation. The members of the federation amount to 1,600 people. It organizes the sports activities of sports clubs in 10 Bulgarian cities. At a special press-conference dedicated to the successful performance of the Bulgarian wrestlers at the European Deaf Wrestling Championships, the Chairman of the Bulgarian Deaf Sports Federation Nikolay Nikolov announced that next Wednesday (November 4) the Bulgarian Deaf Judo Team is to depart for Yerevan, Armenia. Hopefully the performance of the Bulgarian judo athletes will be as successful, as the one of their colleagues from the Deaf Wrestling Team.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov