At a press conference in Sofia on Wednesday, the newly elected leadership of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation said it expected to be entered in the Commercial Register within days and avoid bankruptcy. Following a ten-month legal battle, the court ruled in favour of Asen Zlatev, who was elected as the new president at the General Assembly in December last year, replacing Stefan Botev. The press conference was also attended by the new Secretary General of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation, Marieta Hristova, former secretary general Marin Milashki, and the manager of Olympic champion Karlos Nasar, Nikolay Zheynov.
The new leadership promised transparency in its work, an end to abuses and the settlement of outstanding debts amounting to around half a million euros. Zlatev was asked about Stefan Botev’s petition to have the Federation declared insolvent. According to him, there is no such danger: “I think we will manage and the Federation will not go bankrupt. We have assurances from the legal entities we have spoken to. Through joint efforts, we must repay the debts of half a million euros. I think there are sources from which we can raise funds. We have spoken to people who are ready to help. However, these people want complete clarity about what the funds will be spent on. We will not clear these debts in a single day, but they will gradually be settled through payment rescheduling,” said the 1980 Moscow Olympic champion.
However, the World Weightlifting Championships for men and women in the Chinese city of Ningbo, which begin on October 27, are now the priority. Bulgaria will be represented by six weightlifters, with one reserve also included.
“We are going to the World Championships with everyone having prepared as best they could at home – without salaries, without recovery support and without high expectations. I hope that from now on we will get things organised and start working in the way we know Bulgarian weightlifting can. We have a four-to-eight-year programme. It needs a little more refinement, but I hope it will start to take effect next year. This year was very important for preparations for the Olympics,” said the Federation’s new President, Asen Zlatev.
“Registering the new leadership takes around a month, but I think it can happen even faster. We have the full support of the State. However, the State had no right to intervene and settle disputes such as the one within our Federation. Only the court can do that. But we have received everything we have requested from the state. We can win half of Bulgaria’s Olympic medals, and I hope we can fulfil our potential,” Zlatev added.
Zheynov was also asked about the condition of Karlos Nasar, who is once again Bulgaria’s biggest hope for a gold medal at the championships.
“Karlos Nasar’s preparations were not carried out to their full potential due to health problems, which became more complicated over the last 20 days. However, he is a fighter and draws a lot of strength from the support he receives from people,” the manager said. “Karlos’s preparations were fully funded. We received the funding a little later, but Karlos will manage with the help of sponsors,” he added.
Milashki clarified that the new leadership taking office would allow the national team athletes to receive their overdue payments for this year. “The weightlifters have not received their salaries for 10 months. This year, they have only received payments for March and April. However, they will receive all their outstanding payments in a lump sum once the Federation signs a contract with the Sports Ministry,” Milashki said.
He also announced the team Bulgaria will send to the World Championships. In the women’s competition, the only representative will be Boyana Kostadinova in the up to 49kg category. The men’s team will include Angel Rusev and Deniz Danev in the 60kg category, Ivan Dimov in the 65kg category, Karlos Nasar in the up to 95kg category and Hristo Hristov in the up to 110kg category.
Zlatev was also asked how the events in Bulgarian weightlifting were affecting children and their desire to train and develop. “There has been a decline in the number of children taking up the sport. This scandal has had an impact. Parents do not want to send their children into a sport where it is unclear what is happening within the Federation. But if we implement our programme, we will bring these children back into the gym and fill the gaps that have emerged.”
According to Zlatev, the main problem has always been how the money is spent, rather than how much there is: “There has always been enough money so far, but it has not been spent properly. In 2014, when I was once again a candidate for president, my plan showed that BGN 200,000–300,000 would remain unspent. However, I lost the election by 28 votes to 29.”
“Over the past year, the Federation has been on autopilot. All the ministers over the past year helped the Federation, but through the Management Board rather than the president. And the president is the cornerstone. This will change now, because the outstanding debts that need to be covered urgently amount to EUR 500,000,” Zheynov concluded.

THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-14 13:24:36

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