Hungarian athletes achieved outstanding results at the Summer World University Games, commonly known as the Universiade. Among them were eight students from Széchenyi István University: one of whom was a member of the bronze medal-winning women’s basketball team, three competed in the women’s water polo team, placed seventh, and four earned commendable results in rowing.

The world’s largest multi-sport event for university students, the Summer World University Games, was held in Germany from 16 to 27 July, with the participation of 8,500 athletes from 150 countries. Hungary was represented by 178 athletes, all students from 47 higher education institutions, including 31 Hungarian universities. Hungarian competitors secured ten silver and eight bronze medals, as well as numerous other notable placements. Students from Széchenyi István University contributed actively to these achievements.

Réka Dombai, a student at Széchenyi István University and point guard for the NB I league team Serco Uni Győr, was a member of the basketball team. The squad achieved a historic milestone, as this was the first time Hungary had won a medal in women’s basketball at the Universiade. The Hungarian team narrowly missed the final, losing by only two points (71–73) to the United States in the semi-finals. However, they claimed a decisive victory over Poland (70–50) in the bronze medal match.

Réka Dombai, student of Széchenyi István University and point guard for Serco Uni Győr, won a bronze medal with the Hungarian women’s basketball team at the Universiade (Photo: András Adorján)

In rowing, four students from the University of Győr competed during the final weekend of the event. Balázs Szőllősi finished fourth in the final as part of the mixed quadruple sculls team, and also placed sixth in the C final of the men’s single sculls, ranking 18th overall. Eszter Fehérvári placed third in the B final of the women’s single sculls, resulting in a 9th place overall. The pair of Ádám Csizmadia and Péter László Gasztonyi finished third in the C final of the men’s coxless pair event, achieving 15th place overall. The Hungarian rowing team was supported by Dr Zoltán Alföldi, Head of Department at the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences of Széchenyi István University, who served as team leader.

Among the nine-member Hungarian rowing team, four were students of Széchenyi István University: Eszter Fehérvári (fourth from the left), Balázs Szőllősi (sixth from the right), Ádám Csizmadia (fourth from the right), and Péter László Gasztonyi (third from the right). The team leader was Dr. Zoltán Alföldi, Head of Department at the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences (pictured on the far right). (Photo: Hungarian Rowing Federation Facebook page)

In women’s water polo, two Széchenyi students – Panna Petik and Rózsa Rádli – officially represented Hungary, while goalkeeper Villő Balogh is set to begin her studies at the institution this September. All three athletes are players for Uni Győr-GYVSE. The Hungarian team competed for the seventh place against Turkey in the final stage of the tournament and secured a convincing 25–7 victory.

Panna Petik, Villő Balogh, and Rózsa Rádli were members of the Hungarian women’s water polo team that placed seventh at the Universiade. (Photo: András Adorján)