On December 5 in Varna, Bulgaria, during the “Golden Belt” 2025 ceremony, the National Association of Combat Sports in Bulgaria presented its annual awards. The Bulgarian Armwrestling Federation announced its most successful athletes of the past year.
The highest distinction among the men – “Best Athlete 2025” – was awarded to Sasho Andreev, who claimed a world title at the championship in Albena and a European title at the tournament in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in the up to 90 kg category. With his total of thirteen world titles, Andreev also deservedly received the major “Golden Belt” 2025 award in the category “Best Athlete – Men.”
Among the women, the “Best Athlete 2025” award went to Dimitrina Petrova, world champion from Albena and European champion from Cluj-Napoca in the up to 60 kg category. Her achievements rank her among the leading competitors in women’s armwrestling.
In the “Best Athlete with Disabilities 2025” category, Pavel Krastev was honored after winning both a world title in Albena and a European title in Cluj-Napoca in the over 100 kg category for visually impaired male athletes.
The federation concludes another remarkable year marked by strong international performances and the continued establishment of Bulgarian athletes as leaders on the global stage.
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 p.m. EET.
