Bulgarian and Bosnian clubs welcome Ukrainian refugee athletes

Ukraine Gate- Kyiv – April 3, 2022- The Bulgarian Tennis Federation asked Mikhail Menchev, owner and coach of the Hispano Tennis Club in Varna, to help the Ukrainian refugees who had fled their country due to the brutal aggression.
Menshev, who hosted two families with three teenage tennis players from the Black Sea city of Odessa, says he had to do something, and he couldn’t look from the sofa at what was happening on TV, as if on some kind of reality show.
14-year-old Sasha Groza, who dreams of winning the Australian Open one day and looks forward to Britain’s No 1 seed Emma Raducano, appreciates the friendly welcome, but doesn’t understand what happened. “Our parents stayed in Ukraine, and so did our grandparents, it is very sad,” she said. The Bulgarian Tennis Federation has helped 12 young tennis players, who are planned to be included in national championships without prior registration.
In Bosnia, the memory of the devastating conflict thirty years ago plays a role, as SOK accepts seven players from Ukraine’s Balta club, waits for four others, and provides accommodation, meals and training.. “We traveled for four days… with a long layover at the border,” she said. “It was very difficult,” said Varvara Koltsova, who arrived with her three-year-old son, and Ukrainian tennis player Olga Kachur said she was finally feeling safe away from the war and bombing.