Tsvetomir Valkov Wins Bronze at Junior World Judo Championship

Judoka from the Kodokan 2008 Club and the Sports School in Pazardzhik, Tsvetomir Valkov, won a bronze medal in the heavyweight category at the junior world championship in Ecuador. This is Bulgaria's first world medal in judo at this age level after a nine-year drought, and previously in 2017 Mark Hristov won silver at the Chile championship.

In the tournament, Valkov started with a victory over Kyrgyzstani Nurel Dildebekov, who finished third at the Asian Championship, by ippon. In the quarterfinals, our competitor lost to finalist Abdulmanaf Ramazanov (Russia) by ippon. In the repechage he bounced back with a win over the host Martin Zamaniego, again by ippon. In the bronze medal bout, Tsvetomir defeated Azriel Difo (France) after the third warning in overtime.

For Valkov, this season is the best so far, as he has already won his first medals of his career. According to 'Zname,' the Kodokan athlete (Pazardzhik) was also ranked No. 1 in Europe and triumphed at the European Cup in Portugal.

An interview with Tsvetomir after the European medal can be found HERE.

Source: Zname.info