Szerző: Dr. Kölcsei Tamás

This year's biggest European Masters event, the one-week (June 1-7) European Championship in Budapest, which took place in the National Training Center and three other locations on a total of twenty courses, with more than 400 competitors from forty countries, has come to an end. The staff of MTSZ, the European Tennis Association and the Leisure and Senior Association did a great job. In this regard, as a sports fan (or rather as a table tennis player), I also inquired about the prestigious meeting, which I am describing from the statement of the person concerned (Dr. Attila Szalay) - to the point - due to its readability/specialness...

As a competitor, I can mostly pass on my own experiences. On the one hand, because I can report on them authentically, and on the other hand, because as an amateur it would not be appropriate to make a statement in a sport in which I joined the competition system only six years ago. This time, however, a story happened with our couple that goes beyond mere results, and perhaps that is why it is worth capturing. It is not about a winning match, not about a spectacular feat, but about a strange relegation, and then an even more strange decision, which in the end meant much more than a promotion.

According to the daily schedule, our pair was assigned to one of the four competition locations, which was completely unknown to me. I was particularly excited for the Szépvölgy Tennis Center, as I had never been there before. In addition, fate called us to the track of three - and three has always been considered my lucky number. So everything was given for the start of a memorable day. We arrived exactly as required by the competition rules. We also complied with the mandatory waiting period, which provides an opportunity in case the match announced before us fails for some reason. And indeed, Murphy's Law came into play this time as well. The meeting announced for the first ones did not start for some reason, so we could have entered the field as the next ones. But our opponent did not arrive in time.

The local coordinator, Sándor Árvay, consulted with the board of the competition on the phone, and after a long wait, the decision was made: due to an hour and a half delay, the Italian-Spanish couple was relegated. The rules were clear, the procedure seemed straightforward. However, the story took an unexpected turn here. While we were about to take note of the strange progress, the missing couple suddenly appeared. Among its members was a former ATP tournament winner, a former and current (senior) world ranking medalist, who was considered a name commanding authority in the field. Thanks to our agreement, the competition management finally gave us the opportunity to play the match, so the match started three hours late. At that point, we found ourselves in a situation that even professional athletes rarely encounter. Moreover, competitors with decades of experience were not aware of such a decision either - so the information is exemplary! We could have insisted on progressing according to the rules, since the relegation has officially taken place. However, we decided to live with the essence of the sport, not with the opportunity provided by the paragraphs. We stepped onto the pitch and played against the people we had come to play against anyway.

The result became paper form (we lost 6:2 & 6:4, while our opponent won the final 6:1 & 6:1).In other words, if we had insisted on excluding the management, only the bronze medal would have remained for them. So we fought with the composure of underdogs, and our opponent asserted his greater knowledge and routine. Our defeat did not cause us any disappointment: we were much more happy that the question of advancing was decided on the pitch. The strange beauty of the story only really emerged later. During the one-week international tournament (in 533 matches of more than 400 participants from 40 countries), there was only one disqualification - this is exactly the case. In the eyes of the organizers and the participants, the gesture that we did not want to gain an administrative advantage meant more than the rigid enforcement of the rules. If there is a symbolic Fair Play award in sports, then I feel that the pair Cséplő-Szalay really deserved it on this day.

In addition, fate made the story even fairer in retrospect. The Ramirez later easily/confidently defeated a German-Italian couple from another branch. We were also defeated by them, but with the more favorable game ratio just indicated. Of course, this is just a statistical point of interest. The point is to be found elsewhere. Looking back, we didn't regret our decision for a single moment. It is clear that, referring to the rules, our path would have led to the final, and thus we could have stood on the second step of the podium. But standing there, not having won the place on the field, but through an administrative circumstance, would hardly have been a real joy.

Sport is not only about results, rankings and medals. Sometimes a lost match is worth more than a win at t. Sometimes defeat brings the greatest victory. And to their great surprise, the real/deserved fair winners were given the cup (the attached prize) as a souvenir. This day will remain an eternal memory for us…

Dr. Tamás Kölcsei