Bulgaria to send 42 athletes to Tokyo Olympics
SOFIA, July 1– Bulgaria will send 42 athletes to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, the General Assembly of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee decided here on Thursday. One more Bulgarian shooter, Antoaneta Kostadinova, will participate in the same events in the Tokyo Olympics. They should win a maximum of two medals and optimally one medal, and the minimum goal was to…
by Marian Draganov
SOFIA, July 1 (Xinhua) — Bulgaria will send 42 athletes to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, the General Assembly of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) decided here on Thursday.
The 42 athletes will compete in 14 sports inclduing wrestling, rhythmic gymnastics, weightlifting, athletics, shooting, boxing, and swimming.
“I want to wish them to perform very well, to win medals, and why not gold,” the BOC president and leader of the country’s Olympic delegation Stefka Kostadinova told the assembly.
Maria Grozdeva, the most decorated Bulgarian athlete at Olympic Games with two gold and three bronze medals, will be the national flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.
In addition, this will be her seventh participation in Olympic Games, more than any other Bulgarian athlete.
49-year-old shooter Grozdeva has qualified for the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events. One more Bulgarian shooter, Antoaneta Kostadinova, will participate in the same events in the Tokyo Olympics.
They should win a maximum of two medals and optimally one medal, and the minimum goal was to participate in at least two finals, Dimitar Todorov, sports director of the Bulgarian Shooting Union said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
“We rely mainly on the good sports form of Kostadinova, and the exceptional experience of Grozdeva,” Todorov said.
According to BOC statistics, Bulgaria has gained a total of 218 medals at Summer Olympic Games, including 51 gold, 87 silver and 80 bronze medals, but at the last two Games the Balkan country did not have champions: its athletes won two silver and one bronze medals in London 2012, and one silver and two bronze medals in Rio 2016. Enditem
