In the latest instalment of our series on England’s World Championships performances over the years, Diane Webb (Chair of Archives, Museum and Records Committee) looks at the Championships of 1932 in Prague.

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England’s preparation for the World Championships, or lack of it, was down to a number of factors. 800 clubs were asked to make a contribution of 2/- towards the Fighting Fund. A poor response left the ETTA not knowing if a team could be sent nor allowing for sufficient preparation.

There had been trials around the country although they were not always satisfactory. A final trial was held in London and this too left questions about who to send. There were also issues around which ball to use in the trials – the one which players in England were used to or the one that would be used in Prague, the weight of them was different. Added to which, Ivor Montagu, as team captain only confirmed he would be going shortly before travel, not ideal.

Finally, the team was selected and they had another trek across Europe. England’s Men’s team was Charles Bull, Adrian Haydon, David Jones, Andy Millar and Teddy Rimer, accompanied by Ivor Montagu as npc, along with Eric Findon, Stanley Proffitt, J Morris Rose and AJ Wilmott. No English ladies took part.

The draw certainly didn’t favour England; they faced the four leading teams in successive matches on the first two days, with three of those matches on one day. Despite this, England did make an impact which shocked a few.

They did better against Czechoslovakia than Hungary, Jones winning England’s two matches. England also did better against Hungary than Austria, Jones beating Barna 18, 15 and Haydon beating Kelen 20, -12, 12 in England’s 2-5 loss. Neither Kelen nor Barna had lost a Swaythling Cup match before, so those achievements were considerable.

England’s other results in the team event were a 5-0 win against France and a 5-0 win Yugoslavia – their only two victories. Losses were to Austria 2-5, Czechoslovakia 2-5, Germany 2-5, Hungary 2-5, India 3-5, Latvia 3-5 and Lithuania 5-9 which resulted in a disappointing seventh position from the 10 teams which entered. Haydon was the only player who won more than he lost, winning nine of his 15 matches. Jones won eight and lost 10, Rimer won two and lost three, Bull won three and lost 11 and Millar won one of his six.

The final was a three-way play-off between Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria who had all won eight matches and lost one. The home team beat Austria 5-2 and then got the result against the holders, Hungary by 5-3. Hungary had the consolation of beating Austria to finish second behind Czechoslovakia with Austria third. It seems the Hungarians’ preparation, like the English players, was not as it should have been with their players scattered around Europe taking part in various exhibitions and tournaments and not match fit for these Championships.  

The 7,000-strong home crowd cheered and shouted. They were ecstatic as their team lifted the Swaythling Cup, only the second country to do so. The crowd was so dense in places the English players had to be passed over their heads to reach the dressing rooms.

The individual events didn’t go a lot better for England. There were 128 competitors in the Men’s Singles and six of our players went out in the first round: Bull, Millar, Montagu, Proffitt, Rose and Wilmott. Going one better was Findon and Jones, whilst Haydon and Rimer reached the round of 32, here Haydon had the unenviable draw against Victor Barna, the eventual winner.

Miklos Szabados was again Barna’s opponent in the all Hungarian final. The result was a reverse from 1931 as Barna regained his title in a very close match. Szabados won the first -21, Barna pulled it back and went on to win the next three games 18, 19, 14. Istvan ‘Steve’ Boros of Hungary and Erwin Kohn (Austria) were the losing semi-finalists.

For those who were knocked out in the first round of the singles there was the opportunity to play in the Men’s Minor or Consolation Singles. Proffitt reached the final but lost to Finbergs of Latvia 18, 18. Millar was placed third.  

After dominating the World Championships for so long, five times Women’s Singles champion, Hungarian Maria Mednyanszky could not make it six, losing to compatriot Anna Sipos in the final 17, 16, 19. Magda Gal (Hungary) and Marie Smidova (Czechoslovakia) were the semi-finalists. 

The Men’s Doubles saw some redemption for England; it was also their sole medal. Bull & Jones reached the semi-finals where they met holders and eventual winners, Barna & Szabados. Laszlo Bellak & Sandor Glancz were the losing finalists with Boros & Tibor Hazi the other bronze medallists. England’s pair were the only non-Hungarians on the podium. Proffitt was partnered by Latvian, Sacovs, they lost to Bellak & Glancz in the quarter-finals. Haydon & Rimer went out in the round of 16, Millar & Montagu in the round of 32 and Findon with Wilmott and Rose with Thivy the first round.

The two top players in the Women’s Singles went on to win the Women’s Doubles final 17, 14, 13, Smidova & Anna Braunova the runners-up.

Barna made it a hat-trick of gold medals, as did Sipos, as they reversed the 1931 result in the Mixed Doubles leaving holders Szabados & Mednyanszky runners-up, the score 13, 17, 18. Glancz & Gal along with Czechoslovakians Jaroslav Jilek & Smidova were the losing semi-finalists. Three of England’s men, Findon, Wilmott and Proffitt partnered local players and went out in the first round, the round of 32.

During the ITTF Congress in Prague, three main regulatory changes were discussed. One key issue was that many balls approved for use exceeded the maximum weight allowed by the official rules, raising concerns about consistency and fairness of play. To address this, the ITTF formed a special committee within the Hungarian TTA to thoroughly investigate the matter. Austria, England, Germany and Japan agreed to supply balls for evaluation.

Previously, there were no specific rules about adding entries to the draw, resulting in last-minute changes. A new rule was introduced allowing late entries under certain conditions. This made the draw fairer and less confusing whilst still allowing some degree of flexibility.

Professionalism was broadly categorised into three areas:  players connected to a sports firm or holding an official position within the sport’s governance; those whose profession or business provided extra facilities for practice opportunities; and those who were received some form of reward for their playing skill. No consensus was reached although it was acknowledged something needed to be done.