On August 5, the RA Ministry of Diaspora hosted Deputy of the RA National Assembly and President of the Armenian Badminton Federation Ashot Aghababyan, member of the World Badminton Federation, member of the Executive Bureau of the European Union for Badminton, President of the Balkans Association for Badminton and the Bulgarian Badminton Federation and Honorary President of the Armenian Badminton Federation Pyuzand Kassabian, as well as members of the Bulgarian delegation participating in the Pan-Armenian Games.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan greeted the guests and mentioned the following: “I would cordially like to fulfill my order and, taking into consideration Pyuzand Kassabian’s pro-national activities in the field of sports, grant the Gold Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora to Pyuzand Kassabian for his remarkable services for the preservation of the Armenian identity and for the development of the Armenia-Diaspora partnership.”

The President of the Bulgarian Badminton Federation expressed gratitude for the high award and set it aside from the several awards that he has received to this day. “I have received many gold medals and high awards, but they have been for my achievements in the field of sports. This award is especially precious to me because it is an award for being patriotic and loving the nation.” Kassabian assured that he would further strengthen his bonds with the RA Ministry of Diaspora from now on.

Pyuzand Kassabian was born on January 12, 1941 in the Bulgarian city of Khaskovo. In 1970, he graduated from the Medical Institute of Plovdiv, and later, in 1977-the Institute of Physical Culture of Sofia. Between 1959 and 1989, he has participated in seven national Spartakiads in Bulgaria, becoming Bulgaria’s multiple champion in tennis, basketball and badminton. The World Badminton Federation has granted him a special award for participating in world championships 12 times.

In 2001, the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture granted the title of Honorary Professor to Pyuzand Kassabian. He is an Honorary Citizen of Khaskovo and has been granted the Stara Planina Medal of the Bulgarian government. In 2015, the World Badminton Federation has granted a special award to Kassabian for his significant and longstanding contributions to the development of badminton. Kassabian also has great merit in the development of Armenian badminton. In 1996, he organized trainings for Armenian badminton players in Bulgaria, thanks to which the players were able to go on and participate in world, European and international badminton championships. Since 2001, thanks to Pyuzand Kassabian, badminton has been included in the list of games of the Pan-Armenian Games, to which Bulgaria always sends a representative delegation.