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On December 5 in Varna, Bulgaria, during the “Golden Belt” 2025 ceremony, the annual awards of the National Association of Combat Sports in Bulgaria were presented. The Bulgarian Wushu Federation announced its most successful athletes of the past year.
The “Best Athlete - Man 2025” award was presented to Mario Petrunov, who recorded an exceptionally strong season. He became Balkan and national champion, winning 1 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Bulgarian National Wushu Championship in Elin Pelin. He added a gold and a silver medal from the Balkan Wushu Championship in Edirne, as well as 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medal from the International Wing Chun Championship in Foshan. In addition, he won 2 bronze medals at the World Kung Fu Championship in Emeishan, China. His year was further highlighted by 3 gold and 1 silver medal at the Balkan Open Wushu Games in Burgas.
In the women’s category, the “Best Athlete – Women 2025” award was deservedly presented to Ivelina Shenkova, who impressed with an extensive list of achievements. She won 1 gold and 4 bronze medals at the Bulgarian National Wushu Championship in Elin Pelin, an outstanding 7 gold medals at the World Wing Chun Championship in Foshan, China, and 4 gold medals at the Balkan Open Wushu Games in Burgas. In the final days of the year, she added another gold, two silver and one bronze medal from a national championship.
The “Best Coach 2025” recognition was awarded to Stefan Kunev, under whose guidance Bulgarian wushu athletes achieved numerous gold medals and podium finishes at international tournaments in Athens, Foshan, Batumi and Burgas. He is also the personal coach of both award-winning athletes, Mario Petrunov and Ivelina Shenkova, and his contribution was key to their success throughout the year.
Watch the annual awards of the 12 federations and the “Golden Belt” 2025 ceremony of the National Association of Combat Sports on Bulgaria ON AIR television on December 27 at 19:00 EET.
