The first day of the Bulgarian Open (G2) was a success in participation and organization. The electronic protection systems, the judges, the awards of the competitors and the medical security were guaranteed.
The highlight of the day was the presence of the King of Bulgaria, Simeon II, invited to the opening ceremony, as well as the ambassador of South Korea, representatives of the Bulgarian government, among others. It is perhaps the first time that a King of a country has visited a Taekwondo event in Europe, said one of the judges present.
1,500 competitors from 29 countries will compete for honors in the competition.
Renata Volaric (IR), the World Taekwondo technical delegate for the 2023 Bulgarian Open, indicated that the first day of this event was completed successfully.
Bulgaria is a great host of events. Last year they organized the Cadet and Junior World Championships. a challenge where they were victorious. The architect of these achievements for the country is the leader of Bulgarian Taekwondo, Master Slavi Binev, who has a great love for the sport.
“It is the first time that we have organized a competition on the country’s national holiday. The excitement is great. We again had an extremely important state figure open the competition. A representative of the highest level of the monarchy: His Majesty Simeon the Second. I think that we managed to convey our message: to be more noble, to be people with dignity. This tournament is extremely important for us, since it is part of the preparation and the process of accumulating points for the ranking for the next Olympic Games. We have qualified five competitors for the European Olympic Games in Poland in July. In the qualification that will be in Romania, we expect to qualify two more competitors for sure, and optimists like me expect four. This is one of the strongest tournaments. The competition of G2 rank is only given in three countries in Europe. There are many Olympic, world and European champions here. This tournament is much stronger than a champion World ato because all the champions on the planet are t uk to accumulate points. There are no easy matches. Any result would be great. It is very important that we make our competitors feel that they can also be hosts, and this will give them additional strength, because at home the walls help too,” said Bulgarian Olympic Taekwondo Federation President Slavi Binev.
This event is supported by the European Taekwondo Union (ETU). Part of the staff is present supporting the activity.
Carlos Hernández
