Article from the High Life PingPong! (Translated from Hungarian).
✨The third side of the coin✨
“Every coin has two sides”! A well-known metaphor that suggests that every situation, decision or story can have multiple perspectives. What we see as negative or positive at first may have another, opposite side.
Well, this coin has 3 sides! The first two are full of happiness, and the coin itself. It shines silver on both sides, and was won by those who are partners in life and at the table tennis table: Sophie Barcsai /Győri Atlétikai Club – II. kerület Dózsa/ and Botond Varga /High Life SE/ reached the final and achieved 2nd place in the mixed doubles at the 2025 Hungarian Table Tennis National Championship held in Cegléd. Within arm's reach of the Hungarian championship title, fighting a close, hard-fought battle, and then standing on the podium is happiness even if you have a thought in your mind about what would have happened if... But it's not there now! Let this be just a moment of joy. Huge congratulations on the silver medal!✨
Especially when we now lift the veil from the third side of the medal. Namely, about the ordeal that Botond Varga and his parents (who are also his coaches) have experienced in the past 3 weeks. Boti was hospitalized 3 weeks before the competition, where he was kept in intensive care with spontaneous pneumothorax symptoms. The family only wanted one thing at the time: to return home, to be there with them. If there are no more competitions, if there is no more table tennis, it doesn't matter, because life itself is the most precious treasure. How can you get from here to the point where someone stands on the podium at the Hungarian Championship 3 weeks later? Fortunately, as the attached figure shows. Of course, with careful caution, with continuous medical checks and opinions, and this time without any expectations.
The Botons perceived this weekend's competition as playing for themselves, for the enjoyment of life. And they only play, or their parents only let them play, if they not only feel it, but also if the test results show that everything is fine. It was not an easy ride… In the individual, after a few rounds of the ball in their first match, Boti became so insecure that he gave up… In the doubles events, perhaps helped by the shared responsibility, he was able to play almost without any problems.
We only said all this because we could have said it. Because we are very proud, and knowing the third party, we are especially happy about the success of Boti and Sophie (sorry, Sophie and Boti). But only carefully, and gradually.
Go Boti, Go!
PS: Sophie! 3 events, 3 medals, 2 Finals! Hats off!