Vanya Voynova

Vanya Voynova (Ваня Войнова; December 27, 1934 – March 9, 1993) was a Bulgarian basketball player. She has played for Slavia Sofia from 1950 to 1968, winning the European Champions' Cup in 1959 and 1963 and Bulgarian league 12 times from 1953 to 1965. With the Bulgaria women's national basketball team, she has won silver in the 1959 World Championship, bronze in the 1964 World Championship, gold in the 1958 European Championship, silver in the 1960 European Championship and 1964 European Championship and bronze in the 1954 European Championship and 1962 European Championship. She has been inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.

National team
Vanya Voynova played for the Bulgarian national women's team for 15 years. Her generation remains a lasting trace in the history of this sport in the country. Many experts believe that this is the most successful generation of the 20th century.

With Voynova on its side, the national team won one gold and one silver, and two bronze medals at the European Championships between 1954 and 1964. At that time, the Soviet team was considered the best on the continent, but the Bulgarians broke their opponents' dominance in 1958. At the 1959 World Cup, Voynova played an essential role in winning the bronze medal, finishing with an average of 13.1 points per game. Five years later, she is on top again, and with her help, Bulgaria won the bronze medal.


 * Bronze medal europe.svg EuroBasket Women 1954
 * Gold medal europe.svg EuroBasket Women 1958
 * Silver medal europe.svg EuroBasket Women 1960
 * Silver medal europe.svg EuroBasket Women 1964
 * Gold medal world centered-2.svg 1959 FIBA World Championship for Women
 * Gold medal world centered-2.svg 1964 FIBA World Championship for Women