For Tsvetan Sokolov, the FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers were the last tournament as a member of the Bulgarian national team. The star opposite and captain of the Lions confirmed his decision to put an end to his national team career upon the squad’s return home from the event in Xi’an.
“Yes, that was my last tournament with the national team,” Sokolov told the media at the airport in Sofia. “This is very emotional for me. It was an honour and a pleasure to wear the Bulgarian colours and the Bulgarian flag. I am extremely thankful for all the emotions the national team gave me. But I think I have to put an end to this journey, because there are other boys, who need to start theirs. I think 17 years with the national team is enough for me.”
Led by their 2.06m-tall captain, Bulgaria showed a much improved performance at the Olympic qualifications in comparison to their recent previous competitions. They stopped short of claiming a berth at Paris 2024, but even their fifth place in Pool C and the four wins in seven matches were probably a better-than-expected result, since they entered the tournament as the lowest ranked among the eight participating teams in the pool. Sokolov was Bulgaria’s leading scorer in five of the six matches he started in Xi’an, reaching 20+ points in four of them. In his very last match in the Bulgarian jersey, the 33-year-old striker hammered out an impressive 27 points towards the 3-2 victory over Belgium and finished as the fourth best scorer of the pool.
