Participation in an International Wushu Open Championship in Athens

The Confucius Institute team from Veliko Tarnovo University won three gold medals at the Athens International Wushu Open

From March 13th to 16th, 2026, the 6th Athens Acropolis International Wushu Open was held at the Sunel Arena in Athens, Greece. This event is one of the largest international Wushu competitions in Europe, attracting numerous Wushu enthusiasts and professional athletes. This year's competition brought together 154 teams and 1450 athletes from 20 countries to complete 2300 events.

Led by Li Qi, a volunteer teacher for international Chinese language education at the Confucius Institute at Veliko Tarnovo University, the Confucius Institute team made its debut at the event and achieved excellent results in multiple events, winning three gold medals. Li Qi won the championship in the 42-style Tai Chi Chuan event. Meanwhile, under her guidance, Vilislav Dragozov, a student from the Confucius Classroom at the "Vassil Levsky" Secondary School, won a gold medal in the U18 Modern Sword competition. Borislava Lecheva, a martial arts instructor at the Confucius Institute at Veliko Tarnovo University, won a gold medal in the adult category of the Chen-style Tai Chi Fan competition.

In recent years, the Confucius Institute at Veliko Tarnovo University has actively promoted Chinese martial arts courses. Through systematic teaching and cultural experience activities, more and more Bulgarian youth have come to understand and learn Chinese martial arts. This competition fully demonstrates the achievements of the Confucius Institute in disseminating Chinese martial arts culture. Using martial arts as a bridge, the Confucius Institute at Veliko Tarnovo University will continue to actively promote the dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture in Bulgaria, contributing to the promotion of cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between China and Bulgaria.