Delcheva
A 29-year-old Aleksandra Delcheva shot hoops in the jersey of the French team Olympique Sannois-Saint-Gratien (Division 3), last weekend, but in the past, she was hitting the ball over the net for Saint-Cloud Paris. So, in almost a decade, she went from volleyball to basketball.
Delcheva was playing volleyball in the French top division as middle blocker in 2008/2009, coming to Saint-Cloud from a home country where she performed with Slavia Sofia. But, since only after a year, management of the French team decided to cut salaries to players, she returned to Bulgaria. There, she faced cruel reality – a team where she played earlier seized to exist.
By chance, Delcheva found herself attending a training of the local basketball team. Impressed by her size, coach offered her to shoot 10 free throws. She made 7. This was enough for him to sign a professional contract with Delcheva after only one week of training. Her progress in basketball (playing as center) even opened her the doors of the national team and also of the clubs in Czech Republic and Italy. This summer, she joined French Olympique Sannois-Saint-Gratien.
At the end of the season, she expects her boyfriend, a basketball player in Levski Sofia, to join her in France.
Read an interview with Delcheva in “Le Parisien”.
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