Miklós Szabados (7 March 1912 – 12 February 1962) was a Hungarian and Australian table tennis champion.

Table tennis career

Szabados was born in Budapest, Hungary on 7 March 1912. He first started playing table tennis when he was thirteen, and defeated Victor Barna in a tournament in 1927. From 1928 to 1935, Szabados won the world doubles title six times (1929–32 and 1934–35). He won mixed doubles three times (1930, 1931, and 1934), and was a member of the Swaythling Cup team five times (1929–31, 1934, and 1935). He won four world events in 1931: singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and the Swaythling Cup. As his mother had been born

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Szabados left his studies at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

in 1933 and fled to Paris. He moved to Britain in 1936. He won five English Open titles. Szabados toured the Far East, South America, and Australia on an exhibition tour with

István Kelen Stephen Estaban Kelen OAM ( Hungarian: ''Kelen István''; 21 March 1912 – 1 May 2003) was a Hungarian-Australian sportsman, journalist, author, and playwright. He won seven gold medals at the World Table Tennis Championships in the 1920s and ...

starting in 1937. At the Australian championships in Sydney, they won the doubles tournament, and Szabados won over Kelen for the singles title. Szabados emigrated to Sydney after the tour and opened a table tennis club. He married Marie Alice Bracher in 1941, and they had one son, Sandor . They were divorced in 1954. While serving with the

Allied Works Council The Allied Works Council was an organisation set up to oversee and organise military construction works in Australia during World War II. Established in February 1942, the Allied Works Council was responsible for carrying out any works required ...

during World War II, Szabados he was stationed at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, in 1943–44. During this period he used his time to play and teach table tennis to his colleagues at the Works Council and play bridge with the Northern Territory's administrator's wife. As a result, he played more bridge than anything else as he was already an NSW Bridge champion. He won the singles title at the Australian Table Tennis Championship in 1950 and 1952, and won doubles in 1950 and mixed doubles in 1955. He continued to run table tennis academies and coach. His students Cliff McDonald and Michael Wilcox both won the Australian singles championships. He died of pneumonia on 12 February 1962 in Sydney.

Hall of Fame

Szabados was born a Catholic in 1912. His mother, Rosa Schwarz, converted to Catholicism at her marriage. As a Jew by birth, Szabados was posthumously inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...

in 1987. Szabados was inducted into the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szabados, Miklos Table tennis players from Budapest Hungarian male table tennis players Australian male table tennis players 1912 births 1962 deaths Hungarian emigrants to Australia