The Hungarian National Table Tennis Championship which brought excitement that hadn’t been seen for the past 40 years took place over three days with 350 matches played across five categories. The defending champion secured gold in all five categories making Nándor ECSEKI the most successful player of the tournament with two golds and one bronze closely followed by Ádám SZUDI and Dóra MADARÁSZ each earning two first-place finishes. There were some refreshing exceptions such as the silver medal won by the pair Dávid MOLNÁR and Dávid SZÁNTOSI and the bronze medals won by the pairs Balázs LEI Botond VARGA and Sophie BARCSAI Nóra DOHOCZKI. However overall the younger players posed more of a threat than a real danger to the current top players.
In the women’s competition Dóra MADARÁSZ and Bernadett BÁLINT dominated. MADARÁSZ entered two categories and secured gold in both becoming a four-time mixed doubles champion (twice with Dániel KOSIBA and now twice with Nándor ECSEKI) and a six-time singles Hungarian champion. BÁLINT participated in three finals marking her best national championship performance to date. In addition to her singles and mixed doubles silver she claimed women’s doubles gold her third win in this category and her second with Mercédesz NAGYVÁRADI.
“I’m delighted to have won in both categories especially defending my title in singles and mixed doubles. I aimed to play freely with the goal of enjoying the game. I hope the upcoming Olympic qualifiers will go just as well ” said MADARÁSZ.
In the men’s competition two players stood out: Nándor ECSEKI and Ádám SZUDI. ECSEKI once again demonstrated his prowess in doubles clinching gold in both men’s doubles with SZUDI and mixed doubles with MADARÁSZ. Despite facing some tough matches there was no doubt that ECSEKI would secure both golds with his current partner and the singles bronze he earned was an added bonus. SZUDI also claimed two of the brightest medals: he won doubles with Ecseki and secured the top spot in the men’s singles defeating the previous year’s champion Majoros Bence in a match filled with spectacular points. This victory marks his fifth singles and fourth doubles championship.
” Bence MAJOROS and I are very familiar with each other so we couldn’t surprise each other which was evident during the match. I was unwell during the first two days of the championship and wasn’t completely healthy even during the final so I’m even happier than usual to have finished with two golds just like last year ” revealed SZUDI.
Men’s Singles.
Semi-final
SZUDI–SZITA 4:0 (5 1 4 4)
MAJOROS–ECSEKI 4:1 (–9 9 6 8 8)
Final
SZUDI–MAJOROS 4:1 (–9 2 13 7 3)
- SZUDI Ádám (SPO Rouen)
- MAJOROS Bence (Chartres TT)
- SZITA Márton (Hügiéne Bt.) and ECSEKI Nándor (SPG Walter Wels)
Doubles
Semi-final
ECSEKI SZUDI–LEI VARGA 3:2 (7 –8 –10 2 5)
MOLNÁR D SZÁNTOSI–HUZSVÁR KATUS 3:0 (10 11 4)
Final
ECSEKI SZUDI–MOLNÁR D SZÁNTOSI 3:0 (8 2 5)
- ECSEKI Nándor SZUDI Ádám (SPG Walter Wels SPO Rouen)
- MOLNÁR Dávid Szántosi Dávid (PEAC Szarvasi ASE)
- LEI Balázs VARGA Botond (Ambrus Table Tennis Academy High Life SE) and HUZSVÁR Erik KATUS Krisztián (Celldömölki VVSE TTC Lugau)
Women’s Singles
Semi-final
MADARÁSZ–HARTBRICH 4:0 (6 4 7 5)
BÁLINT–IMRE 4:1 (7 –6 5 7 8)
Final
MADARÁSZ–BÁLINT 4:0 (5 6 9 6)
- MADARÁSZ Dóra (Budaörsi SC)
- BÁLINT Bernadett (Győri AC)
- HARTBRICH Leonie (SV Böblingen) and IMRE Leila (Budapesti Erdért SE)
Doubles
Semi-final
BÁLINT NAGYVÁRADI–DARI FEJŐS 3:0 (3 10 3)
HARTBRICH SZVITACS–BARCSAI DOHOCZKI 3:2 (1 8 –6 –9 10)
Final
BÁLINT NAGYVÁRADI–HARTBRICH SZVITACS 3:0 (12 5 12)
- BÁLINT Bernadett NAGYVÁRADI Mercédesz (Győri AC Budapesti Erdért SE)
- HARTBRICH Leonie SZVITACS Alexa (SV Böblingen Győri AC)
- DARI Helga FEJŐS Anna (Budaörsi SC Kiskunmajsai AC) and BARCSAI Sophie DOHOCZKI Nóra (Győri AC Budaörsi SC)
Mixed doubles
Semi-final
ECSEKI madarász–Molnár I BALOGH 3:1 (9 9 –9 3)
KISHEGYI BÁLINT–andrás Nagyváradi 3:2 (–10 –4 5 7 9)
Final
ECSEKI MADARÁSZ–kishegyi Bálint 3:0 (3 11 4)
- ECSEKI Nándor MADARÁSZ Dóra (SPG Walter Wels Budaörsi SC)
- KISHEGYI Ákos BÁLINT Bernadett (Városi SE Dunakeszi Győri AC)
- MOLNÁR István BALOGH Ágnes (SV EBE St. Urban Békési IAA) and ANDRÁS Csaba NAGYVÁRADI Mercédesz (TTC Bad Homburg Budapesti Erdért SE)
