Sofia: Serdar Karagoz, the president and CEO of Anadolu, participated in the 128th anniversary celebrations of Bulgaria's national news agency, BTA, and attended the award ceremony for the 52nd "Balkan Athlete of the Year" poll. The event, held in Sofia, brought together various Balkan news agencies, including Anadolu.

According to Anadolu Agency, Romanian swimming champion David Popovici was awarded the title of "Balkan Athlete of the Year" through a voting process. Serbian basketball player Nikola Jokic secured the second position, while Bulgarian weightlifter Karlos Nasar took third place. Alperen Sengun, a Turkish national basketball player currently playing for the Houston Rockets in the NBA, was also ranked among the top 10 athletes. All top performers received plaques, and Sengun's plaque was presented to Karagoz.

During the ceremony, Karagoz expressed his satisfaction with attending the 'Balkan Athlete of the Year' awards, highlighting the strong partnership between BTA and Anadolu. He stated: "BTA is one of Anadolu's partners both in the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) and likewise in the Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA-SE). Both news agencies want Bulgaria-Trkiye relations to develop on every platform."

Karagoz further emphasized the historical significance of BTA's 128 years of journalism in the Balkans, noting the evolving focus on future collaborations between Trkiye and Bulgaria. He shared insights from discussions with BTA about potential partnerships and expressed his gratitude for the invitation to Sofia to commemorate BTA's milestone anniversary.

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev highlighted the significance of the 'Balkan Athlete of the Year' ceremony, which coincided with BTA's founding day. He noted the special value of Anadolu's participation in the voting process, underscoring the longstanding partnership between the two agencies.