Federer91

Looks like my math was wrong and i was prematurely celebrating The other thing could be Korea out of top 4. Do you know what is the difference between Korea and Italy and if they could fall out of top 4? And vice-versa between Italy and Bulgaria and do we have a chance to pass them? And i know the worse result should be excluded from the final score, but what are they for these teams?

USA are out of top 4, which gives us a qualification spot before the final World cup

Told you Korea is easier for us, than a Hungary or Italy

Any draws yet?

I would say good draw for us. We need USA out of top 4 to get a quota, so if Italy can knock them here, they could pass them in the rankings. Also it's better we avoided Hungary, as we always struggle against them. Korea is much more suitable from the big teams. But of course we need to first beat Azerbaijan to stay in contention.

As per tradition i will most likely vote at the last moment. Expect me sometime on Sunday evening.

BG Team has been announced for the qualifier: Men Radoslav Rosenov (63.5 kg) Rami Kiwan (71 kg) Kristiyan Nikolov (80 kg) Yordan Hernandez Morejon (+92 kg) Women Zlatislava Chukanova (50 kg) Aslahan Mehmedova (60 kg) Joana Nwamerue (66 kg) (she is actually Bulgarian btw ) We already have quotas in M 57kg, W 54kg and W 57kg. The absent weights without a boxer are M 51kg, M 92kg and W 75kg. While for the two heavyweights it was expected, as we don't have anyone relevant there, M 51 was a surprise. Looks like our guy is injured and they will keep him for the final qualifier.

Looks like this new sport is beginning to get traction here. Tomorrow we will open the biggest climbing hall in The Balkans, with special guest Jakob Schubert It will have over 3000 m2 climbing area, 300+ routes, 200+ boulder sections.

On the men's side, China is odds on favourite on only 1 category in weightlifting - 61 kg At 73 their top lifter is currently only 7th in the ranking. At 89 Li Dayin will have to go through Nasar. And even though China has the top lifter at 102, the margins are too small between the first 4-5 in the rankings, that one bad lift could make a difference. They could still get all 3, but you can't say, that they will get all golds with ease, like on some previous events.

Amazing fought victory for us against the World Champions Germany! Granted Germany played with probably their 3rd team, but the win was crucial in our chances for the qualification. The atmosphere in this arena brings something extra to our unknown players. It will go down in our recent history, just like the win against France in 2018 and that legendary win against Latvia after 2 extra times in 2020.

I f'n hate, hate this World Cup season.. What a shit show. If people aren't fired, beginning with Waldner, for the full season fiasco, then FIS are morons. Can't properly structure and organize their most important tour..

This is an interesting case to point out. What is the rule book, if Ireland doesn't manage to qualify their swimmers individually?

Wrestling is the prime example of nation swapping. Like how many Russians we have in each weight, 40-50%... The rules are just to easy. If you want to jump hop nations there should be 5-6 year non-compete clause.

You are giving too much value to the IOC following any principles. They could very well bend over backwards when it comes to US / Canada provinces etc. and ban on the spot Middle East / Africa ones. You know some are more equal amongst others.

Agree. Sjoestroem is still one of the best in the World, don't know why she suddenly gave up on the 100 events. It's not like Sweden has a medal chance with her, so her concentration for the relays seems pointless, when she could medal in the individual events. 100 free has a strong competition, i could see why she could leave it, but 100 fly is hers even blindfolded. Is it certain she would skip 100 fly at the Olympics?

UWW are so desperate for money, that i'm surprised they are not doing a full-fledged Worlds... They just can't pass a single year can't they. Who would care about these non-Olympic weights, especially after Paris..

Wow, i totally ignored Bozhidar Andreev in my initial prognosis, as his head wasn't focused in the past 1-2 years, but damn 73kg is one of closest weights at the Euro and he dominated. Haven't seen him so strong and confident in years. An European record in the C&J and a total of 348 kg, which jumps him up to number 3 in the rankings.

This is not going to be the Championships of Italy. First Imperio, now Magistris make a zero in the Snatch.

Someone at FIVB finally got it right. That stupid core team protection discrimination is out! Still, adding 2 more teams will give an extra buffer for their "important markets", but having the relegation on sporting merit is of course a thousand percent better. There will be no relegation in this years VNL and the 2 extra teams for 2025 will be the Challenger Cup winner and the highest placed team from the Rankings not already in the league. The 3 week regular season with 12 games per team overall remains, but their will be 3 hosts of 6 teams each week. And they have scheduled a bit longer break for relaxation, with a whole free week in the middle, plus a one week later start, which should give them a few days more after the club championships end.

@MHSN Do you have any TV links where to watch the morning sessions? I am fed up with the UWW site and their incompetent platforms....

Great start to the Euro for us at 55 kg. Angel Rusev with his 4th title, even though there was a scare with his shoulder in the Snatch. He pushed through and with one good lift in the CJ got the win. Lots of guys had trouble in the CJ, which led to a very surprising bronze to our young athlete Zarkov. His entry was for 7-9th place, but was the only one with 6 good lifts and gets his first medal at a big event.

Annalisa should have won in my opinion. It's a great tradition, just make the shows shorter. A 4-hour evenings from 8-12 PM is perfectly possible. Every year there 6-7 songs, that are just filler. Have 22 songs and everything will be smoother.

Karlos Nasar gave a press-conference before the Euro. Here are some of the highlights. - He is fully healed now, after the big injury last year. He is hopeful to not have anymore problems before Paris; - The Doha Grand Prix in December was a great testing ground and the 223 kg CJ World Record reassured him, that everything is ok. He mentioned, that he has lifted 233 in training, but joked, that he hopes it won't come to that for a gold medal. - He has received numerous offers from other countries. There was speculation, that he would go to Bahrein after the Olympics. Karlos firmly said he is rejecting all such offers and has no intention of switching. Bahrein had indeed made a strong proposition to his coach and said they are trying to make a "dream team". - If weightlifting remains an Olympic sport, he sees another 2-3 OG in him after Paris. - All the constant scandals with the national coach, the Federation, the different clubs has a negative impact on the team. It's getting tiresome to be surrounded by problems and not train normally. The National team is being split in two with some remaining with the still (disgraced) coach Ivan Ivanov, while Karlos and others train with his and other coaches elsewhere. He has no or wants to have any communication with Ivanov until the courts rule on the corruption case. For him the guy should leave as he has brought so much scandals over the years.

So Spain won and everyone cried wolf unnecessary. You would wonder what happened in the Hungarian locker room at half-time.

Of course, this was the toughest group by far. But luck of the draw is "part of the game". It has played a factor in much bigger events and tournaments and changed the trajectory of athletes / teams career.