Viktor Győző Barna (born Győző Braun; 24 August 1911 – 27 February 1972) was a Hungarian and British champion

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

player as well as a record five times singles

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. He won 41 World Championship medals (including 22 gold medals) and also won 20

English Open The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 20 ...

titles.

Personal life

Barna's birth name was Győző Braun, but because of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

in Hungary at the time, he changed his name to a Hungarian-sounding name. In September 1939, during the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he and his wife were in America. Barna returned to Europe, in order to fight against the Nazis. He joined the British army as a parachutist, and fought in Yugoslavia. After the British withdrew from Yugoslavia, Barna remained in England. After the war he settled with his wife in London. He became a British national in 1952. Later he became a representative for the Dunlop Sports Company and continued traveling the world in this capacity. It was during one of these tours in 1972 that he succumbed to a heart attack in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Peru. His brother Tibor Barna was the 1940 Hungarian table tennis national champion.

Writing

In 1957, he published the book "How to Win at Table Tennis" (London: Pitman) . Then, in 1962, he published the book ''Table Tennis Today'' (London: Arthur Barker) and in 1971 ''Your Book of Table Tennis'' .

Legacy

Barna, who was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

in 1981. Barna was inducted into the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.

References

External links

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Cigarette card bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barna, Viktor 1911 births 1972 deaths Hungarian male table tennis players English male table tennis players Hungarian emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Jewish Hungarian sportspeople Table tennis players from Budapest World Table Tennis Championships medalists British Army personnel of World War II Jewish British sportspeople 20th-century English sportsmen 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen

Personal life

Writing

Legacy

See also

References

External links