This is what Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC) Secretary-General Bálint Vékássy said at the press conference where Hungarian world championships held in 2019 and relevant for Olympic qualification were revealed, namely the World Table Tennis Championships, the World Fencing Championships, the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships and the World Modern Pentathlon Championships. Dániel Papp, CEO of Hungary's state-owned national public-service broadcasting organization, MTVA announced at the MTVA headquarters that sports channel M4 will broadcast all four championships and as he said, ”2019 is already Olympics in Hungary".
According to Bálint Vékássy, the fact that Hungary hosts so many world championships proves that the country occupies a prominent place in the international sports scene. Vékássy hopes the home field and the Hungarian fans will propel Hungarian athletes to secure Olympic Quota Places for Tokyo 2020, with Hungarian sailors already finding successes.
The HOC Secretary-General mentioned that the Hungarian Olympic Committee would do its utmost to provide quality broadcasting and that it was great to see the cooperation between the organisers and M4 in Hungary.
Vékássy also talked about HOC’s tight schedule for 2019, as the Committee is preparing for the winter and summer editions of EYOF, the European Games and the World Beach Games. He welcomed the great leaders of Hungarian associations working together under MTVA’s aegis.
MTVA CEO Dániel Papp listed the World Championships and European Championships to be broadcast next year, including the European Games in Minsk. He also added that MTVA will try to broadcast every major event with Hungarian hopefuls, while emphasizing that the organisation informs the public through various platforms (television, radio, online broadcast), using cutting-edge technology.
Roland Nátrán, President of the Hungarian Table Tennis Association said that the sport has an international association comprising one of the most member states and the expectation that thanks to broadcasting, more than half a billion people might spectate the April World Table Tennis Championships taking place at Hungexpo, Budapest, signifies the sport’s popularity. „Thus, this World Championships may very well be the 5th most spectated sports event in the world”.
Zsolt Csampa, President of the Hungarian Fencing Federation said that the competition will be held at the SYMA Sports and Conference Centre, although according to plans, the grand finals would have been held at Heroes’ Square. “We will show the world a true sporting nation”. Organising the World Fencing Championships and the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are left to a joint group of organisers. Previously, Bálint Vékássy was also one of the lead organisers of the Hungarian World Championships in these two sports.
Representing the Hungarian Canoe Federation, Gábor Schmidt revealed a HUF 2bn investment for the tracks in Szeged to provide a better overall quality for the World Championships in August. Schmidt, a member of HOC Board of Directors, also reminded everybody of the words of Olympic Champion Katalin Kovács on the importance of being on home soil: “During the last 200 meters I am pulled through the finish line by the lively crowd”.
Gyula Bretz, President of the Hungarian Modern Pentathlon Federation said that since 1969, many World Championships were held in Hungary. This time, the laser run competitions, a novelty and a cornerstone of pentathlon, will also be held at the Budapest World Championships next year. Bretz was happy to announce that since priority investments in the sport, pentathlon’s Hungarian base increased threefold.
National Olympic Committee leaders convened in Tokyo
The 23rd General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) was held in Tokyo, where the 2020 Olympic Games will be held. The meeting in Tokyo in the last week of November also coincided with sports diplomacy programmes. Those attending were briefed on overall progress and the development of facilities for the Summer Olympic Games. Representing the Hungarian Olympic Committee were HOC President Krisztián Kulcsár and HOC Secretary-General Bálint Vékássy.
In addition to high-ranking HOC members, many prominent representatives of the Hungarian sports scene travelled to the island country, including athlete, European Olympic Committee and HOC Sports Committee member Balázs Baji, IOC member and HOC Board of Directors member Dániel Gyurta, Head of HOC's International Relations and Sports Diplomacy Committee, and International Weightlifting Federation Director-General Attila Ádámfi, and last but not least, László Vajda, who carried out several tasks at various Olympic events as Organising Committee member and is still actively contributing.
HOC Secretary-General Bálint Vékássy said that during the two-day assembly, the Hungarian delegation was updated on upcoming and past events, such as the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympics, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics or the Buenos Aires YOG and Pyongyang Winter Olympic Games this year. New on the agenda is the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego next October, for which Hungary is already preparing. The Hungarians also met several Japanese dignitaries, for example the governor of Tochigi Prefecture, with whom a partnership agreement was signed regarding Tokyo 2020 or high-ranking officials of Chikuma city who recently signed an agreement with the Hungarian Table Tennis Association. Norbert Palanovics, Hungarian ambassador to Tokyo and his staff were also extremely helpful during the Hungarian delegation's stay in Tokyo.
(HOC)