Viktor Barna

Viktor Győző Barna (born Győző Braun; 24 August 1911 – 27 February 1972) was a Hungarian and British champion table tennis player as well as a record five times singles World Champion.[1]

Viktor Barna
NationalityHungarian, English
BornGyőző Braun
(1911-08-24)24 August 1911
Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died27 February 1972(1972-02-27) (aged 60)
Lima, Peru
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Hungary
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1929 Budapest Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1929 Budapest Team
Gold medal – first place 1930 Berlin Singles
Gold medal – first place 1930 Berlin Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1930 Berlin Team
Gold medal – first place 1931 Budapest Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1931 Budapest Team
Gold medal – first place 1932 Prague Singles
Gold medal – first place 1932 Prague Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1932 Prague Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 1933 Baden Singles
Gold medal – first place 1933 Baden Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1933 Baden Team
Gold medal – first place 1934 Paris Singles
Gold medal – first place 1934 Paris Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1934 Paris Team
Gold medal – first place 1935 Wembley Singles
Gold medal – first place 1935 Wembley Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1935 Wembley Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 1935 Wembley Team
Gold medal – first place 1938 Wembley Team
Silver medal – second place 1931 Budapest Singles
Silver medal – second place 1931 Budapest Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 1932 Prague Team
Silver medal – second place 1934 Paris Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 1937 Baden Team
Silver medal – second place 1938 Wembley Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1930 Berlin Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1933 Baden Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1936 Prague Team
Bronze medal – third place 1938 Wembley Singles
Representing  England
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1939 Cairo Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1954 Wembley Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1947 Paris Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1947 Paris Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1948 Wembley Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1949 Stockholm Team
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Bombay Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Bombay Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1953 Bucharest Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Wembley Mixed doubles

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

Personal life

Barna's birth name was Győző Braun, but because of anti-Semitism 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, 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, Peru.

His brother Tibor Barna was the 1940 Hungarian table tennis national champion.[2]

Writing

In 1957, he published the book "How to Win at Table Tennis" (London: Pitman) ISBN 978-0-273-41699-9.[3] Then, in 1962, he published the book Table Tennis Today (London: Arthur Barker) and in 1971 Your Book of Table Tennis ISBN 978-0-571-09345-8.

Legacy

Barna, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.

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

See also

References
  1. Table Tennis. Time Magazine. 4 February 1935
  2. "The History of Sport and Physical Education among the Jewish People in Hungary in the Last 120 Years". ISOH.
  3. Amazon
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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