Robert Gardos

Robert Gardos (Hungarian: Gárdos Róbert, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈɡaːrdoʃ ˈroːbɛrt]; born 16 January 1979 in Budapest) is a Hungarian-born Austrian table tennis player, European Champion and Olympic participant. He plays for the French club Chartres ASTT. As of August 2016, he is ranked the no. 48 player in the world.

Robert Gardos
Gardos at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameRobert Gardos
Nickname(s)Robi
NationalityAustrian
Born (1979-01-16) 16 January 1979[1]
Budapest, Hungary
Playing styleBackhand orientation, fast, offensive, topspin[2]
Equipment(s)Butterfly[2]
Highest ranking18 (March 2015)[2]
Current ranking48 (August 2016)[3]
ClubChartres ASTT
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight66 kg (146 lb)[1]
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Austria
European Games
2015 Baku Team
European Championships
2012 Herning Doubles
2015 Ekaterinburg Team
2013 Schwechat Doubles
2008 St. Petersburg Singles
2008 St. Petersburg Doubles
2009 Stuttgart Team
2011 Gdańsk–Sopot Team
Representing  Hungary
European Youth Championships
1993 Ljubljana Singles
1993 Ljubljana Mixed Doubles

Since the opening in 2011, Robert Gardos practices at the Werner Schlager Academy in Schwechat, Austria.

Career

Early career

Gardos was born on 16 January 1979 in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing table tennis in his hometown club Budapesti VSC where his father, Gábor Gárdos worked as a coach that time. In 1993 Gardos won the European Youth Championship in singles and in mixed doubles on the side of Mihaela Encea in the cadet category.[4] At the age of 14, he switched his residence to Austria, however, he competed for Hungary until he was 18.[5] In 1998, after a conflict with the Hungarian national team – Gardos was left out from the team and could only compete in the singles event –, he opted to play for Austria in the future, having already obtained the citizenship two years earlier.[5][6]

Austrian years
ITTF World Tour 2017, German Open

Gardos, who is right-handed, began competing for Austria after the three year international suspension for country changing was lifted.[6] He had several success at Table Tennis European Championships, most notably winning the doubles event of the 2012 edition with Daniel Habeson. One year later the duo finished second in the same event having lost the final against Wang Zeng Yi and Tan Ruiwu. In singles, Gardos' best performance came in 2008 in St. Petersburg by finishing third.

Gardos was also present at two Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012. At the 2008 Summer Olympics Gardos faced an early exit in the singles as he was beaten in the second round by Zoran Primorac,[7] thus finished tied-33rd.[8] In the team event, Austria (Robert Gardos, Chen Weixing, Werner Schlager) just missed out a medal as they fell short against South Korea (Oh Sang-Eun, Ryu Seung-Min, Yoon Jae-Young) in the bronze final by a scoreline 1–3.[9]

Gardos did not qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in singles, but the Austrian team with the same line-up was present at the Games. After an easy victory in the first round (Egypt, 3–0),[10] the team faced eventual bronze medalist Germany and lost without winning a single match (0–3),[11] thus finishing tied-fifth.[12]

In June 2015, he competed in the inaugural European Games, for Austria in table tennis, more specifically, Men's team with Stefan Fegerl and Daniel Habesohn. He earned a bronze medal.

Gardos qualified for and competed in the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships, seeded at number 42. In the first round, he defeated Chew Zhe Yu of Singapore (4-2), before losing to Chinese player, and number 4 seed Zhang Jike, (2-4).

Personal life

His nickname is Robi. His hobbies include playing golf, reading, and listening to music. He speaks German, Hungarian, Spanish, and English.[2]

Style

Robert Gardos uses the following styles for play:[2]

  • Offensive
  • Fast
  • Topspin
  • Backhand orientation

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Robert Gardos". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  2. "Robert Gardos Biography". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  3. "Gardos Robert Ranking History". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  4. "European Youth Championships archive". European Table Tennis Union. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  5. "Osztrák pingpongsztori lecsóval és magyar emlékekkel" (in Hungarian). Origo. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  6. "Gardos hat mit Grenzau hohe sportliche Ziele" (in German). Zugbrücke Grenzenau. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  7. "Table Tennis at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games:Men's Singles Round Two". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  8. "Table Tennis at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Men's Singles". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. "Table Tennis at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Men's Team Final Round". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  10. "Table Tennis at the 2012 London Summer Games: Men's Team Round One". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  11. "Table Tennis at the 2012 London Summer Games: Men's Team Quarter-finals". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  12. "Table Tennis at the 2012 London Summer Games: Men's Team". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
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