Bulgaria weightlifter Milen Dobrev, who competes in the 94kg weight category, will miss the Olympic Games in Beijing after not recovering from the back injury that has kept him away from all competitions in the past year, Sega daily reported.

"We came to this decision together. Milen was training with the team and staying in good physical shape, but we decided that he will not be at his best in Beijing. He will continue recovering and will train for future competitions," Bulgarian weightlifting federation secretary-general Tencho Tenev said, as quoted by the daily.

Dobrev won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004, when he was best in the snatch event and was joint first in the clean-and-jerk move. It was one of only two Olympic gold medals won by Bulgarian athletes that year.

Bulgaria would announce its weightlifting team for the Beijing Olympics, held on August 8-24, by the end of the month, Tenev said. Ivan Stoitsov in the 77kg weight category, Alan Tsagaev in the 120kg category and Velichko Cholakov in the over 120kg category were locks for the team, provided they sustained no injuries before the tournament.

Bulgaria has the right to field a full team of six athletes in weightlifting, a sport in which Bulgaria traditionally does well.