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.

Romania Set for Another European Final After Beating the Netherlands

The top seeds in the Women’s Event at the European Team Championships in Zadar, Romania, lived up to their status and booked their place in the final, where they will...

France Reach Final After Epic Win Over Germany in Zadar

At the European Team Championships in Zadar, France took one step higher on the medal podium than in Malmö 2023 and will play in Sunday’s final for their first European...

Penultimate Day in Zadar: Germany Advance to the Final

In the final of the Women’s Event at the European Team Championships in Zadar, reigning champions Germany will face the winner of the clash between top seeds Romania and No....

Men’s Semi-Finals Set: Germany to Face France, Romania to Meet Slovenia

On the sixth day of play at the European Team Championships in Zadar, the battle for the medals intensified as the semi-final line-up was confirmed. In the men’s event, Germany...