I am Dimitar Iliev, three times world, two times European champion in Muay Thai for amateurs and professionals and a multiple national champion. I am so honoured to be part of the sport values’ channel! I think such media is needed because values, not only in sport, matter today more than ever.

If I must name THREE valuable qualities the sport has taught me – they would be DISCIPLINE, PERSEVERANCE AND DESIRE TO WIN. Without discipline you can't achieve much in sport, everybody knows it. Accordingly, to become good at a sport, one needs perseverance. And the desire to win helps me, no matter what, to never give up and to seek results and victory at any cost. When I say ANY – mean it – but only for me. I never do compromises with ethics, with people feelings with fair play and sport rules.

As my sport is a combat sport, some people consider it a bit rough, yet more and more kids and young athletes are getting interested in it. It's discipline that I try to teach the kids that I train, not just in the gym but outside of the gym as well. I also teach them about helping each other, helping people in need, respect for their peers and respect for the older ones. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I rarely see such attitude in kids. We work a lot not only with children, but also with their parents, exactly on this topic.

I am convinced that there is additional training needed to be provided to coaches on how to teach values in sports.

In my opinion there is a need to provide this kind of training to be able to help children in the RIGHT WAY and to be sure, that we do the right thing. There are too many coaches nowadays in Bulgaria, some of them are active without qualification. Learning is a life long journey, you just start to walk backwards in the moment you stop learning. That is why it is important for coaches to undergo different types of training in order to be as helpful as possible to children and young athletes.

I have not only good memories and good feelings for my sport. I remember in 2009 I participated in the European Championship and lost in the final due to injury. After the championship I found out that I would only get half of my promised bonus because to get the full bonus there must be a certain number of participants in the category. In this case I had to refund all my expenses although the Ministry and state promised to cover all my expenses. This is not right; athletes should be supported by the government and unfortunately, I am not the only case.

Over the past year, Bulgaria decreases investment in sports, and I am wondering when the pattern will change. We have to learn how to invest in sport wisely and use sports as a tool to promote the country’s reputation and image internationally as well as domestically. The increase in sports activity leads to positive developments in ultra-conservative countries (which Bulgaria is not) and diverts the country’s attention from the various concerns that ail it. Here I see the link between diplomacy and sport.

To encourage more young people to train, sport needs to be advertised and promoted properly. Its benefits need to be brought to light and made attractive to people. Conditions must be given so that a person has the motivation to play sport and compete, to lead a lifestyle with sport through which they can support themselves and their family.

I think one of the purposes of sport is to create bonds and friendships. I've always had an individual approach to the different persons, but with no back thoughts or preconceptions. It doesn't matter who is against or next to you, all people should have equal rights and opportunities.