Table tennis: Budapest can be the Wimbledon of table tennis
The Hungarian association has been working for a long time to bring the highlight of the renewed international competition calendar, Grand Smasht, to Budapest. The agreement has not yet been signed, but the chances are good, so it could easily be the only European venue for the Grand Smash to be announced in Singapore, the site of the sport’s first Grand Smash race.
Georgina Póta also stands at the Grand Smash in Singapore (Photo: Imre Földi) |
Following the International Table Tennis Association’s (ITTF) call for the IOC – Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to run indefinitely under the auspices of the ITTF, nor will the two countries host the first Grand Smash in Singapore’s history. the emphasis of its competition has also changed. The change also has a Hungarian dimension: two Russian players were eliminated from the main board, so Dóra Madarász, who was originally classified as a qualifier, was among the highlights.
The Singapore tournament, which kicked off today, is the biggest throw in the world of table tennis in the first half of the year, as the highlight of the renewed calendar, Grand Smash, is now unveiled. This is equivalent to the Grand Slam tournament for tennis players – it is similar to a table tennis tournament that will take two unusually long weeks, among other things – with only four in a year on four different continents, Asia, Australia, Europe and Europe in the Americas. . Of the venues, only Asians have just appeared, ie Singapore has been officially entered, but according to the news, we may not have to wait much longer – it is possible that this will happen in Singapore now – that the only European venue, Budapest, will be included in the competition calendar. . As Roland Nátrán, the president of the Hungarian association and one of the vice-presidents of the ITTF, has repeatedly said, “the Hungarian capital has a good chance to host the European Grand Smash, and if it succeeds in reaching an agreement, that in the coming years Budapest would most certainly host the world elite ”.
The world elite is no exaggeration, the field of the Grand Smash is on par with the World Championships, and in addition to the prestige, the cash prize is an attractive $ 2 million among the best – unprecedented in the sport.
If the long-distance agreement is reached, the first European Grand Smash will be held in mid-July, and Budapest could be Wimbledon for table tennis or Roland Garrosa. However, it is worth focusing on the Singapore tournament first, if only because there are three male and female players in each of the four events, but since none of them were on the table on the first day of the qualifiers, ours will start fighting on Tuesday.
Hungarians at a table at the Grand Smash in Singapore:
Men’s singles. Qualifiers: Bence Majoros, Ádám Szudi, Nándor Ecseki
Men’s couple. Main table: Ecseki, Sudi (6th highlight)
Women’s singles. Main table: Póta Georgina, Madarász Dóra. Qualifier: Leonie Hartbrich
Female couple. Main board: Póta, Madarász