Said Saif Asaad (born Angel Popov ( bg, Ангел Попов; May 31, 1979 in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

), is a

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

who competed in the Men's 105 kg weight class at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

and won a bronze medal. One of eight

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

weightlifters recruited by the

Qatar Olympic Committee Qatar Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية القطرية, IOC code: QAT) is the National Olympic Committee representing Qatar. History The QOC was formed in 1979 and was granted full recognition by the International Olympic ...

, Asaad became a Qatari citizen to represent the country in the 2000 Olympics, his old name, Angel Popov, being left behind in the process. Qatar has been known for recruiting sportspeople from other countries, the most notable example being world-class runner

Saif Saaeed Shaheen Saif Saaeed Shaheen ( ar, سيف سعيد شاهين), formerly Stephen Cherono (born 15 October 1982), is a steeplechase runner. He was born in Keiyo, Kenya but now he represents Qatar. He currently holds the world record for 3000 metre stee ...

. After moving to Asia, Asaad has become Asian champion twice as well as winning the 2002 Asian Games. He is also the 2003 world champion. Later he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but finished without a result.

Notes and references

External links

Athens 2004 participant bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asaad, Said Saif 1979 births Living people Qatari male weightlifters Bulgarian emigrants to Qatar Bulgarian male weightlifters Weightlifters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifters of Qatar Olympic bronze medalists for Qatar Olympic medalists in weightlifting Asian Games medalists in weightlifting Naturalised citizens of Qatar Weightlifters at the 2002 Asian Games Weightlifters at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Qatar Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy World Weightlifting Championships medalists