HUNGARIAN WRESTLERS

I follow avidly both tennis and athletics, and you can see in some countries they have very strong traditional links and are steeped in certain sport activities for example in sprinting Jamaica to them it’s a very big deal and for Kenya middle to long distance running. In tennis Czech Republic have produced outstanding players Martina Navratilova, Ivan Lendl present ones include Petra Kitova a Wimbledon champ and there are many more, Spain is the same I know Nadal is the outstanding one but they have great in depth strength probably ten men in the top 100 they are no one trick pony, even Andy Murray trained their as a youngster. And this made me mull over the Hungarian wrestlers who featured so prominently in Western Europe wrestling scene from the fifties onwards. Even the world champ Lou Thesz his parents came from Austria- Hungarian empire and I understand Lou’s dad was a champion himself back in Hungary. We were fortunate in the UK to enjoy our own Hungarians......Tibor and Peter Szacks as well as one of my favourites Zoltan Boschik but there were others( whatever happened to Kalmen Gaston?). They all seemed very sound technically the Boschik v John Naylor bout is great. It’s so long ago....when did these guys arrive? Was it connected to the quashed 1956 Budapest uprising? I seem to think they were out of the country at the time on some wrestling tournament and never returned to Hungary not sure where I picked that up or if it’s even true! Their loss was the UK gain that’s for sure. But we were not the only beneficiaries Europe got some as well, Molnar, Kovacs, Gida all brilliant matmen it turns out my personal favourite the German baddie Doctor Adolf Kaiser was actually.......an Hungarian! And I know there were more! Hungary is not a big country nor does it have a big population. I know little about it, but it made me wonder is it a country that as a tradition in certain sports and wrestling is one of them?