Miklós Szabados

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

The native form of this personal name is Szabados Miklós. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Miklós Szabados
Full nameSZABADOS Miklós
Nationality Hungary
Born7 March 1912 (1912-03-07)
Budapest, Hungary
Died12 February 1962 (1962-02-13) (aged 49)
Sydney, Australia
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Hungary
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1937 Baden Team
Bronze medal – third place 1936 Prague Team
Silver medal – second place 1935 Wembley Singles
Gold medal – first place 1935 Wembley Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1935 Wembley Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1935 Wembley Team
Bronze medal – third place 1934 Paris Singles
Gold medal – first place 1934 Paris Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1934 Paris Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1934 Paris Team
Silver medal – second place 1932 Prague Singles
Gold medal – first place 1932 Prague Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1932 Prague Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1932 Prague Team
Gold medal – first place 1931 Budapest Singles
Gold medal – first place 1931 Budapest Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1931 Budapest Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1931 Budapest Team
Gold medal – first place 1930 Berlin Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1930 Berlin Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1930 Berlin Team
Silver medal – second place 1929 Budapest Singles
Gold medal – first place 1929 Budapest Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1929 Budapest Team

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.[1]

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.[2]

As his mother had been born Jewish, Szabados left his studies at the University of Berlin in 1933 and fled to Paris. He moved to Britain in 1936.[1] He won five English Open titles.

Szabados toured the Far East, South America, and Australia on an exhibition tour with István Kelen starting in 1937. At the Australian championships in Sydney, they won the doubles tournament, and Szabados won over Kelen for the singles title.[1][3]

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 during World War II, Szabados he was stationed at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, in 1943–44.[1] 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.[1]

He died of pneumonia on 12 February 1962 in Sydney.[1]

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 in 1987.[3]

Szabados was inducted into the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.[4]

References
  1. Cashman, Richard I. (2002). Szabados, Miklos (Nicholas) (1912–1962). Retrieved February 22, 2014. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. "ITTF Database". Ittf.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  3. "Miklos Szabados". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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