International Events | 14 May 2022
Who will show his lion's claws for the first time in the town on the banks of river Rába
This year, between 21-26 June, Győr will host the fifth Youth Table Tennis World Festival. The tournament is a Hungarian initiative, the first four editions were also held in Hungary. The deadline for the final entry is 20 May 2022.
The first youth world festival for table tennis took place in 1989 in the Budapest Sportcsarnok, as well as the second edition in 1990. After a ten-year break, the third world festival was held in Tiszaújváros, and in 2002 the latest edition, the fourth tournament was launched there also.
After two decades, the event comes to life again, which from the very beginning was characterized by a friendly, almost familiar atmosphere, which could have been best experienced in Hungary at the János MOLNÁR Memorial Competition, which was also linked to Iván HERENDI.
One of the main goals of the Youth World Festival has always been to bring young people from all over the world closer together, to get to know each other and each other's cultures better. The various leisure programmes help children to have a getaway from the rather monotonous everyday life as a top athlete – even at this age –, and finally yet importantly, they can have an insight into other table tennis cultures.
“Every country has a unique table tennis playing style. In today’s globalized world it cannot be seen so clearly anymore, but it is basic, for example, that Russian players have good backhands, or we know about the Japanese players that they do not work with such big spins, but they hit the ball a thousand times over the net and are very agile. The Germans, on the other hand, work with distinctly large spins. We got a little taste of what the Indian style is like or what the Chinese soft rubber is like on these occasions” recalled János JAKAB the competiton of 2000, where he won a gold medal in the team competition together with Dániel ZWICKL and Krisztián MOLNÁR, defeating the Chinese team.
The world festival also provides an opportunity for those young Hungarians to compete in a large international tournament. And from abroad, later world classics such as Vladimir SAMSONOV, the Belarusian legend, and the Chinese Olympic and world champion ZHANG Jike have also participated in this tournament.
Every day on different parts of the city there will be some kind of leisure programme or diverse entertainment opportunities, where the participants can release a bit of steam between their matches.
One of the hits in the fan zone will certainly be the so-called FastPong Training System. It is a development tool invented in South Korea that encourages players to play faster and more precisely. FastPong will also be available for the public.
In terms of its facilities, Győr will be a perfect venue for the Fifth World Festival, especially that the entire sports life of the city and the Hungarian Olympic Committee are also supporting the initiative.
“It is our job, it is our duty, moreover, it is an Olympic sport in which we have been very successful in the past. The entire Olympic movement relies on the associations and federations, so our partners are very important in this process” said Zsolt GYULAY, President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee.
The city on the banks of river Rába also has significant experience in organizing competitions of this scale.
"Győr is an experienced competition organizer, as it also hosted the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017, with the participation of thousands of athletes and sports managers" said Ákos RADNÓTI, Deputy Mayor of Győr.
The Table Tennis World Festival will be held at the Olympic Sports Park, one of the most modern multifunctional sports complexes in Central Europe.
At the 2022 World Festival, the very young can also participate, the clashes will go down in five age groups from U11 to U19. In all five age groups, in addition to the national team players, representatives of regional teams or clubs may also take part in the competition.
Based on the sum of the overall points in the competition, the table tennis federations of the three most successful countries will receive a total cash prize of $ 10,000.
In addition to the glory and the cash prize, the youngsters will also fight for world ranking points in their respective age category, which can give them a special motivation and further enhance the prestige and significance of the festival. Those who are among the most important stakeholders in the youth category of this sport in the world will all be present in Győr at the competition. So, the old slogan remains: be there or be square!
The deadline for the final entry is 20 May 2022. You can register your team via this link, or via the following email: worldfestival2022@gmail.com
As part of the Youth World Festival, players will have the opportunity to attend an optional preparatory training camp on 21 June, while an international coaching seminar for professionals will also take place.
The competition itself will start on Wednesday, 22 June with the group matches in the singles competitions and the first round of doubles and team competitions.
On the closing day – 26 June –, after the medal ceremonies, the festival will end with a raffle and a farewell party.
For more information please visit the event website.
You can also download the Prospectus from ITTF events section.
