2024-08-15 23:55:40
Kimia Alizadeh, who brought the first Olympic medal in the history of Bulgarian taekwondo, said upon her return to Sofia that she was happy that she was able to please the Bulgarians with a bronze medal, but her goal was gold.
The athlete born in Iran was welcomed by the president of the federation Slavi Binev, the national selector Farzad Zolkhadri, the hopes of our taekwondo, as well as dozens of Iranians living in Bulgaria. Alizadeh was inundated with bouquets of red roses, as well as numerous requests for a photo.
“It is a pleasure for me to return with an Olympic medal for Bulgaria. Behind this medal are many trainings and injuries, so I am happy that all the sacrifices paid off in some way.
I went to Paris to get the gold. I trained in a way to take the gold. Every day I woke up with this thought. But I am very happy with the medal because I beat the world number 1 for it.
It is an honor for me to wear the first medal for Bulgaria in this sport. I know how many children look up to me and it is my responsibility to be an example to them. It is an honor and a responsibility to be the best for them. I hope I managed to make them believe in themselves,” said Alizadeh.
“I am a child of Iran and that remains. But now I am here in Bulgaria and I send a lot of love to my family and fans in Iran. I love them and want to thank them for their support. I also thank the Bulgarians for their support, I did not expect to is so big. In Bulgarian, I can still only say: “Hello, I’m Kimia”. I didn’t have time to learn more Bulgarian and stay here more, but now I will have,” concluded the taekwondo player.