Malek Can’t Turn Table on His Top-Ranked Foe

LAGUNA HILLS —  Costa Mesa’s Atilla Malek entered three events in the Meiklejohn National Seniors Table Tennis Tournament at Leisure World. And he advanced to the finals in all three.

Unfortunately, he faced Tong Sheng Huang of Maryland in each one. Malek was the runner-up in all three.

Second-seeded Malek, 43, lost Sunday to top-seeded Huang in the the over-40s singles, 21-14, 21-18, 26-24.

He then faced Huang and partner Hui Yuan Liu, the top-seeded team in the over-40s doubles. Malek and Lim Ming Chui lost, 21-17, 21-18. On Friday, Huang defeated Malek in the elite singles, 21-9, 21-13.

“I am partially tired,” said Malek, a Hungarian immigrant. “And he is fast, strong and very consistent. And his rating is much higher.”

Malek, who moved to the United States in 1978 and won the 1979 U.S. national championship, gave Huang, 40, a much stronger match in the over-40s event than he had in Friday’s elite.

Huang, the highest-rated senior player in the United States, had little difficulty with Malek in the first game after pulling away to a 15-10 lead. He quickly put the game away.

In the second game, Malek took an early 5-2 lead before Huang caught him at 8-8. Malek looked to be gaining confidence and rebuilt his lead to 14-11, but Huang scored nine straight points to go up, 20-12. It took Huang five game points to win it.

In the final game of the match Malek made an impressive comeback, rallying from a seven-point deficit, to tie the score, 16-16. The two battled down the stretch, playing to five deuces, but Huang prevailed.

“He [Huang] wasn’t even playing his best,” said Bard Brenner, an organizer of the U.S. Open, which will be held in Florida in early July. “He was pushed a few times early on and that gave people the chance to see how good he really is.”

Malek, who has been playing since 1968, collected $900 in prize money from the tournament.

“Not bad,” said Malek of the prize money. “But I just play for fun now. Now I get to go back to my business.”