HRVATSKI SPORT, Dragutin Šurbek

Dragutin Šurbek – a serial medal winner who pushed the boundaries From a ruler for a net and a racket made of plywood, to the world's winning podiums – few athletes' CVs stand as such convincing testimonies of the power of hard work and perseverance as the life story of Dragutin Šurbek. Born on 8 August 1946 in Zagreb, in the working-class neighborhood of Trnje, which by its very name ("thorns") symbolizes his hard beginnings, Šurbek started playing table tennis in the attic of a primary school. One of the greatest careers in the history of Croatian sports began at a table discovered by mere chance. Šurbek was not a wonderkid. He did not win big junior titles or believe that talent is the key to success. “I believe only in work and sweat,” was his motto. He more than made up any perceived lack of natural talent with fanatical training, pushing the limits of his own endurance. He also brought a new dimension to table tennis: while generations of players before him primarily relied on technique, a feeling for the ball and flair, Šurbek turned physical fitness into the cornerstone of his game. He ran, lifted weights and trained to exhaustion, and became the most physically fit table tennis player of his time. That was his attitude at the table as well: powerful, temperamental and tireless. A devastating forehand spin was his trademark, but his greatest weapon may have been something else – never giving up. Never walking away. Journalists called him the "champion of bloody knees" and "tireless warrior", while in China he was known as the Tiger of Zagreb. His sporting philosophy was best summed up in one word: fight to the last breath. With a career spanning four decades, he marked the most dynamic era of table tennis, and his results have ranked him among the greatest. He won a total of 36 medals at world and European championships. He was the European singles champion in 1968, and the world doubles champion with Antun Stipančić in 1979 and Zoran Kalinić in 1983. He won 112 international tournaments. He was also the star of the famous Zagreb team Vjesnik, a triple winner of the European Champions Cup, which achieved a stunning series of 122 consecutive victories in domestic and international competitions in the first half of the 1970s. Šurbek's long career was almost as exceptional as his medal collection. He played 503 times for Yugoslavia, adding 15 appearances for Croatia after its independence. When he went to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona at the age of 46, decades of competing at the highest level were behind him, but the desire to compete was still there. Dragutin Šurbek died on 15 July 2018 in his native Zagreb. He left a legacy of titles, medals and records, but also something that cannot be expressed in numbers – he remained an example of an athlete who built his own greatness through tireless work. From a boy with a plywood racket to a role model and idol to young people around the world. In the history of Croatian sport, few have embodied the perseverance, passion and winning spirit as strongly as Dragutin Šurbek. Romana Eibl, journalist and former table tennis player