The second Balkan Sports Games brought more than 70 children from five countries to Panagyurishte

On the evening of 18 September, the second Balkan Sports Games for children and young people who have been through an oncohaematological disease opened in the “Arena Asarel” sports hall in Panagyurishte. More than 70 children from Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Croatia and Serbia competed in swimming, table tennis, shooting, athletics, football and chess.

The games are organised by our association, which has held sports games for children who have beaten cancer since 2019. The patron of the games is the Mayor of Panagyurishte Municipality, Zhelyazko Gagov.

These are games for winners. But these winners won long before they joined these games.Nadezhda Mileva, Association “Children with Oncohaematological Diseases”

“The aim of these Balkan games is to bring the children together, to let them feel full of life and to help them make lots of new friends,” says Plamen Belchev of the association. After years in hospital rooms, sport gives them back the world that treatment had cut them off from.

“I’m healthy now”

Fourteen-year-old Darija came from Belgrade. “I really like it here — it’s emotional and fun,” she says. Uroš, also from Serbia, competes in air rifle shooting: “I was cured of the serious illness when I was 7. I’m healthy now.”

This year the volunteers also included girls who once took part in the games as competitors. “It really was hard for a little girl to spend most of her young years in hospital,” recalls Kameliya Tsolova. “And I appreciate what I have so much more,” adds Nikol Kumanova.

Thank you

To the donors who funded the games: the Asian Festival Sofia, NNEK-UNESCO, “Asarel-Medet” AD, “Sport Time Group” and BIODERMA.

To the partners who provided the competitions, the technical services and the facilities: the “Oborishte” chess club, the “Kamengrad” swimming sports club, the “Panagyurishte” tennis club, the “Asarel-Medet” table tennis sports club, the “Oborishte” athletics club, the “Levski” shooting club, the “Sredets” football academy, Stagepro, Art Photo Label, WIRK Ltd. and “M-Trans 21”.

And to the donors of gifts for the participants — this year there were more of them than ever: TimeZone-BG, Xiaomi Bulgaria, “Electrohold Bulgaria”, “Infomed” EOOD, “Pobeda”, “Melbon” AD, “Zayo Bayo”, “Naturprodukt Bulgaria”, KETEN Ltd. (the “Rino” shop), Kaufland Bulgaria, “Sweet Christmas”, Koh Libre, Rock That Boogie Bulgaria and the “Movement of Bulgarian Mothers” association.

We also thank all the children, parents and volunteers, Panagyurishte Municipality and everyone who made these three days possible — so that together we could prove that when you overcome an oncohaematological disease, you are already a winner.