Ecopack 
Sofia, October 10th, Saturday
200 children in grades 1 through 7 entered the thirteenth edition of the Golden Shuttlecock school student badminton tournament for the Sofia Cup. The tournament took place on Saturday, October 10th at Sport Center ‘Europe’. The minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev opened the 13th edition of the tourney and awarded the winners from grades 1 and 2. “It is wonderful to see how the tournament grows and attracts more and more children each year. I congratulate the Bulgarian Badminton Federation for making their sport one of the fastest growing and most successful sports in Bulgaria in recent years” said Minister Kralev. He also thanked all parents for encouraging their kids to take up sports and wished good luck to all the participants.
Ecopack Bulgaria Executive Director Todor Bourgoudjiev noted that the main goal of this competition was to promote sports, a healthy lifestyle, and a responsible attitude towards the environment among children and their parents, with the aim of building a better future for all of us.
The Executive Director of the Bulgarian Badminton Federation Volodya Zlatev praised all participants and presented Minister Kralev with a ‘golden shuttlecock’ as a token of appreciation for the support he has extended to the sport of badminton.
The ‘Children and Badminton’ initiative also took place for a second consecutive year, with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, reaching over 1500 children from 35 clubs.
Also in attendance were the honorary chairman of the Bulgarian Badminton Federation Puzant Kassabian, one of our most successful players Petya Nedelcheva, and Alexander Malinov, member of the board of directors of the Bulgarian Badminton Federation and president of badminton club ‘Victory’.
The tournament was organized by the Bulgarian Badminton Federation and Ecopack Bulgaria, under the patronage of Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandukova and with the support of ‘Devin’ AD. This year, the tournament was part of the ‘Sofia - European Capital of Sport 2018’ initiative.