Bulgarian Wrestler Nikolay Ilyev Wins European Championship in Samokov
- May 17, 2026 | 20:17
Bulgarian wrestler Nikolay Ilyev secured the European championship at the continental cadet and girls wrestling tournament in Samokov, making him the second Bulgarian champion in this event. Additionally, Radislav Velikov-junior won a bronze medal for Bulgaria.
Ilyev had a flawless tournament in the 71 kg category, defeating Chamal Pürçu (Turkey) 7-5, Abel Caco (Romania) 11-0, Mark Zemen (Hungary) 10-0, and Dmitry Kursenko (Ukraine) 13-3, to reach the final. In the final, he initially led 6-0 against Artur Ananyan (Russia), who clawed his way back in the second half. However, Ilyev scored another point in the final seconds to secure the gold medal.
Georgi Markov-junior's European Title Reign
Ilyev follows in the footsteps of Georgi Markov-junior, who won the title in the classical style.
Radislav Velikov-junior, the son of the 2006 world champion and coach of the national freestyle team Radislav Velikov, also had a strong showing in the lightest category at 45 kg. He did not lose a point against Alexander Chamov (Belarus) and Daniel Matei (Romania), and in the semi-finals, he made a significant comeback in the final seconds against Erik Gazaryan (Armenia), winning 11-7. In the gold medal match, the 15-year-old Bulgarian came up short, losing 0-11 to Marco Kvasnyuk (Ukraine).
Velikov is a republic and Balkan champion for children and also finished third at the European Championship for 15-year-olds in Italy in 2025.
Silver medals were also won by Stefan Stefanov and Andrea Nisheva in the women's categories.
Photos: Startphoto
This is a fantastic achievement for Bulgarian wrestling! Nikolay Ilyev's dominance at such a young age is a clear sign of things to come. Will he be the one to bring Bulgaria its first world championship in wrestling? Only time will tell.