Zoltán Berczik
Encyclopedia
Zoltán Berczik was a Hungarian
table tennis
player. In the late fifties he was ranked among the best European table tennis players and won, with his athletic play, the first two titles at the Table Tennis European Championships
.
Berczik was born in Novi Sad
. He began his career as a defensive player. With the advent of topspin in the late 1950s he turned his game around to attack. He died in Budapest
.
, in 1962 Miklós Péterfy, in 1963 with János Faházi
and 1967 with István Jony. In mixed doubles he won in 1960 with Gizella Farkas and Éva Kóczián
in 1967.
He won the team championships in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962 and 1964 with the club Vasútépítő Törekvés and in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969 with Bp. Vasutas SC.
He achieved his greatest success at the European Championships in 1958 and 1960. Here he became European champion both in single and with the Hungarian team. In 1958 he won the Mixed with Gizella Lantos, in 1960 the double competition with Ferenc Sido
. In 1964 he reached the final of the individual, which he lost to Kjell Johansson, and semi-finals in doubles.
Berczik ended his coaching career in 1996.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player. In the late fifties he was ranked among the best European table tennis players and won, with his athletic play, the first two titles at the Table Tennis European Championships
Table Tennis European Championships
The European Table Tennis Championships were first held in 1958. Between 1958 and 2002, the European Championships were held every two years in the even years. From 2003 they were held in odd years. Since 2008 the tournament has been held annually...
.
Berczik was born in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
. He began his career as a defensive player. With the advent of topspin in the late 1950s he turned his game around to attack. He died in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.
National success
He won the Hungarian championship in single continuously from 1959 to 1964. He won the double competition in 1959 with László Földy, in 1960 and 1961 with Ferenc SidoFerenc Sido
Ferenc Sidó is a former table tennis player from Hungary. From 1947 to 1961 he won several medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the Table Tennis European Championships and in the World Table Tennis Championships.-References:...
, in 1962 Miklós Péterfy, in 1963 with János Faházi
János Faházi
János Faházi is a retired Hungarian table tennis player. He competed at Prague in 1963 and Malmo in 1964 and played against some of the best European players in the 1960s.-References:...
and 1967 with István Jony. In mixed doubles he won in 1960 with Gizella Farkas and Éva Kóczián
Eva Koczian
Éva Kóczián, later Kóczián-Földy is a former female table tennis player from Hungary. She won several medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the World Table Tennis Championships and in the Table Tennis European Championships.Her brother József Kóczián was also a table tennis...
in 1967.
He won the team championships in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962 and 1964 with the club Vasútépítő Törekvés and in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969 with Bp. Vasutas SC.
World Championships
Berczik took part in World Cups five times: in 1957 he secured the silver medal with the Hungarian team. This happened again at the World Cup in 1959, where he also won the bronze medal in doubles (with László Földy) and mixed (with Gizella Lantos-Gervai-Farkas). At the World Cup in 1961, he was third with the team and runner-up in doubles with Ferenc Sido. In 1963 and 1965 he won no medals.European Championships
At the Youth European Championship in 1955 in Stuttgart, he arrived in final in doubles, where he lost.He achieved his greatest success at the European Championships in 1958 and 1960. Here he became European champion both in single and with the Hungarian team. In 1958 he won the Mixed with Gizella Lantos, in 1960 the double competition with Ferenc Sido
Ferenc Sido
Ferenc Sidó is a former table tennis player from Hungary. From 1947 to 1961 he won several medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the Table Tennis European Championships and in the World Table Tennis Championships.-References:...
. In 1964 he reached the final of the individual, which he lost to Kjell Johansson, and semi-finals in doubles.
Trainer and author
From 1969 he served as coach for the Hungarian national team. After a stay in Japan in 1985, he coached Budapest Vasutas SC. In the 1990s he wrote a series of articles for coaches on the table tennis tactics:- 1992: Tactics (2): establishment of tactics for a match
- 1992: Tactics (3): The tactics of the offensive player
- 1993: Tactics (5): Exercises for offensive players
- 1993: Tactics (6): Exercises for offensive players
- 1994: Tactics (7)
- 1994: Tactics (8)
Berczik ended his coaching career in 1996.