Sasho Andreev was honored with the “Golden Belt” 2025 award in the category “Best Athlete – Men 2025” by the National Association of Combat Sports at an official ceremony held on December 5 in Varna, Bulgaria.
He is a 13-time world champion in armwrestling and has won a total of 23 world titles in the men’s and junior divisions over 13 years of competitive career.
“I previously competed in freestyle wrestling and have around 20 national and three republican titles. Wrestling helped me a lot, as it also involves strength training. This new award is a motivation for me,” Sasho Andreev shared in the studio of Bulgaria Sutrin.
The athlete trains year-round and does not focus solely on arm strength. “In the last two to three weeks before competitions, I train more intensively, with two or three sessions a day. Unlike some armwrestlers who train only their upper body, I train my entire body, as well as both arms,” the armwrestling champion said on Bulgaria ON AIR.
The category in which he competes—up to 90 kg—is one of the strongest, which is why the finals are always extremely demanding.
“I’ve often lost and reached the final with a loss, where you then have to win two matches. Anyone who has a loss has usually had four or five more matches before the final. If you have a loss, you can end up having nine or ten matches in a single day,” Sasho Andreev explained.
His expectations for next year are that Bulgaria will achieve first or second place in the world team rankings in armwrestling.
The athlete’s calendar also includes participation in the national armwrestling championship, followed by European and World Championships in 2026. A video of the full interview with Sasho Andreev is available on the official website of Bulgaria ON AIR.
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 on December 27 at 07:00 PM EET.
