The Bulgarian Wrestling Federation has changed president a week before the World Championships, with the participation of some of its leading athletes still unresolved. An extraordinary General Assembly on 17 October removed Stanka Zlateva and elected Todor Angelov, who has made bringing back wrestlers absent from the preliminary entries a priority, including Olympic champion Semen Novikov and Kiril Milov. The championships begin on 24 October in Astana, Kazakhstan, and run until 1 November.
Angelov received 94 votes at a meeting held at the Vasil Levski National Sports Academy in Sofia, marked by a walkout by Zlateva’s supporters. According to ‘BTA’, they left after questions were raised about club accreditation and possible errors in the lists. The assembly chair stated that 112 of the 126 clubs initially present remained represented and proceeded with the vote.
The dispute that left athletes out
The leadership change follows a confrontation that had directly affected the national team. According to ‘BTA’, Novikov, Milov and other CSKA wrestlers were excluded from selection because they did not follow the federation’s required centralised training programme, instead working with their personal coach, Soslan Farniev. The dispute had already cost them participation in a previous World Championships and threatened to do so again in Astana.
Following his election, Angelov announced that work to include the CSKA athletes would begin on Monday, 19 October. “Without them, it is unthinkable to participate,” he said, according to ‘Boec’. His intention to restore the leading medal contenders makes the World Championships squad the first test of his presidency, with only a few days to complete the necessary arrangements.
Zlateva had requested the entries before her removal
However, a subsequent report adds an important qualification: the request to include the athletes had already been initiated before the leadership change. Bulgarian public radio ‘BNR’ reported on 18 October that Zlateva had sent a letter on 16 October to the president and secretary-general of United World Wrestling (UWW) requesting the registration of Novikov, Milov, Edmond Nazaryan, Stefan Grigorov and Abu-Muslim Amaev. According to the broadcaster, the request cited the federation’s situation ahead of the assembly and the approaching championship deadlines.
Zlateva also told ‘BNT’ that she would not appeal the result and would provide a power of attorney to allow her successor to work. That willingness could help the transition, but does not in itself establish that the entries have been accepted. UWW’s published preliminary Greco-Roman entry list allows changes up to 72 hours before the draw for the discipline; in the version consulted, Novikov and Milov were still absent.
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