THE MEMBERS OF MOONLIGHT CLUBS IN
SUBOTICA AT THE INTERNATIONAL TABLE TENNIS COMPETITION
Csömör,
27th October, 2007
 Happy about the invitation we were reading the invitation
card and of course the map of
Hungary already a few days before setting out. We left for the
trip to the table tennis competition on 27 October with a small
team.
We arrived around
midday in glorious sunshine. We were warmly welcomed by our
hosts, and we could see on their faces that they were truly
happy to see us – which made us even more cheerful. Until the
entry to the competition at 5 p.m. we almost had the whole
afternoon to get acquainted with the town and its neighbourhood.
In accordance with the children’s wish we first headed towards
the Hungaroring (the Hungarian motor racing track). In the
bright weather we could go round the famous track by car, and
arriving at the main entrance we parked the car and attempted to
go in. When the guards found out that we came from Subotica,
they let us in. It was a special experience to see the circuit
from close, as well as the portraits of the winners of past
Hungaroring races carved into the wall and the statutes of the
masters of motor racing, the world champions. We made some great
photos on the scene.
On the way back to Csömör from the racing track in Mogyoród
we were getting acquainted with the town lying in the valley of
a stream, and we also took a walk to the fishing lake in the
nearby, where we talked about our various fishing experiences
with our new friends. No need to say the children were gladly
taking part in the conversation. Time went by quickly in the
beautiful sunny weather, and we arrived back to the sports hall
at
5 p.m.
We entered the competition and waited for it to start. Until the
competition committee were busy with setting up the groups,
suddenly a balding, broad-shouldered, elderly man entered the
door, whom the children did not recognize, but whom we, who back
in the seventies and eighties used to cheer for him so many
times, immediately recognized. It was the several hundred times
Hungarian representative, world and European champion table
tennis player, István Jónyer who honoured us with his presence.
We had a friendly conversation with him, and he showed his
famous Chinese and world beating “croissant spin” to us live,
and played a pair of forehand and backhand strokes with each
child.
The competitors of the Moonlight Clubs of Subotica fought
hard. The greatest success was achieved by Róbert Jenei, who was
placed first in the advanced group of the middle category.
Naturally he was extremely happy to receive the medal and cup
due to the winner. The competition ended around
4 a.m. After the tombola, which was the final event of the competition, the
small team from
Subotica
thanked the hosts for the opportunity to participate in the
competition with a smile on their face, a warm handshake and
feeling honoured.
We set off for home on Sunday around
half past four, in difficult circumstances, in thick fog. It was
not without danger, but the competitors, for the sake of whom we
took this long journey, didn’t see anything from the fog,
because already near
Budapest the car suddenly became all quiet after the tiring
night sports. I am sure this sport and cultural “food for body
and thought” enriched their personality, and they fell asleep to
dream one of the most beautiful dreams of their life.
Ferenc Galac
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