Dr. György LAKATOS remembered respected revered

May 24, 2018
3:11 pm
Member Associations

Born on Monday 27^th May 1918; today marks the 100^th birthday of one of the pillars of the European Table Tennis Union; the organisation’s former General Secretary and later President.

It is a day to remember the enormous contribution made by Hungary’s Dr. György Lakatos who passed away in on Monday 9^th July 2001.

by Robert Szentgyorgyi

A native of Budapest upon finishing secondary school he studied law and philosophy and obtained a doctorate in both.

He started playing table tennis while at secondary school and as from 1934 regularly attended table tennis training sessions.

After World War Two he assumed the role of reorganising the Hungarian Table Tennis Association; between 1947 and 1950 serving as its General Secretary. Notably from 1945 until the end of his life he was a member of the Board of the Association. Significantly in the intervening years between 1982 and 1986 he was President then Vice President; thereafter he served as Honorary President.

Most pertinently György Lakatos took part in the formation of the European Table Tennis Union. He fulfilled the role of Honorary General Secretary. It was thanks also to his efforts that in 1958 Hungary hosted the first European Championships. He was President then Vice President between 1982 and 1986.

Furthermore he was an internationally acknowledged sports diplomat; one resulting factor was that in 1989 the International Table Tennis Federation honoured his outstanding achievements in sports diplomacy by awarding the gold medal.

Impressively he taught himself English German and French and had master trainer and international referee qualifications. He wrote eleven specialist books including a rule book plus numerous press articles.

Sport was not his only pursuit. Between 1945 and 1951 he worked at the Ministry of Public Education and later on as an editor at the Kossuth Book Publishing Company. He also served as a senior editor at Népsport and Nemzeti Sport sports dailies between 1987 and 1989.

Dedicated he assisted in the work of the Hungarian Table Tennis Association until the end of his life.

SZUDI and NAGY claim singles titles at 109th Hungarian National Championships

Ádám SZUDI and Judit NAGY claimed the singles titles at the 109th Hungarian National Championships in Mosonmagyaróvár, both overcoming the defending champions in the finals. In the men’s singles, 2025...

BAILEY claims long-awaited title at Isle of Man Championships

Sam BAILEY claimed the singles title at the Isle of Man Closed Table Tennis Championships 2026, held at the National Sports Centre (NSC), in an event that marked the start...

DARVIS and KRISTÍNARDÓTTIR MIXA crowned champions in Iceland

Ingi DARVIS RODRIGUEZ and Sól KRISTÍNARDÓTTIR MIXA claimed the singles titles at the Icelandic National Championships. DARVIS RODRIGUEZ secured the men’s singles crown with a convincing 4-0 victory over Birgir...

KEUCHEYAN leads winners at Liechtenstein National Championships in Balzers

Asad KEUCHEYAN claimed the Elite/Open singles title at the Liechtenstein National Championships in Balzers. The 2026 edition, held on 22 March, brought together players across multiple age groups and categories....