Harmeet Desai of Goa Challengers.
Photo Credits: UTT
PANAJI
India's top-ranked table tennis player Harmeet Desai, enjoying a purple patch in his career, has set his sights on the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) title with his new team Goa Challengers.
After some breakthrough performances in the recent WTT Contender events -- a semifinal finish in the WTT Contender in Lagos and a run to the pre-quarterfinals in WTT Contender in Tunis -- the Surat paddler has risen to be world number 64. Now, playing for a new franchise in the UTT, Harmeet is eyeing the UTT crown with the Goa franchise ahead of the busy international season.
"It's a great feeling to play for Goa Challengers. This is my fourth UTT season but it's the first time I have played for Goa (this season) and it's turning out to be a great season for me," Harmeet told 'The Goan' in an interaction. "Overall, the team spirit is good; the coaches have been really good, and as team-mates the bonding we've got this season is great, which has helped the team to win tough matches. We are hoping for a good finish to the season by winning the UTT title."
Reflecting on his rise as the best-ranked player in India ahead of the seasoned Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan, the 30-year-old player said, "It feels great to be the top-ranked Indian TT player but I have higher goals and I wish that I can even improve further in my game, in my world ranking and achieve even more in future. But definitely, this is a step which confirms to me that I am on the right track and things that I am doing are working for me and I have to continue to keep the belief; the hard work I have put in, I have to continue doing it."
The paddler praised UTT as a platform which has done wonders for Indian table tennis. "The UTT has improved the belief in our players. If you see from the first UTT till now, the Indian players have started beating the international players and everybody has improved their world ranking. It (the UTT) has given the Indian players the experience of playing against the top international players, learning from them and the foreign coaches. I hope it can create world-class players who can win an Olympic medal for India," Harmeet said.
Looking back at his impressive performances in the WTT Contender events, Harmeet said he thoroughly enjoyed being out there and competing with the world's top players.
"It was really a great time, the last month where I played four WTT tournaments where I could beat so many higher-ranked players. It was one of the best moments in my career. It gives me great confidence that I can play at such a high level. But there is a need to make further improvements to make my level more consistent to beat these kinds of players," the Goa Challengers star said.
Harmeet credited his training stint in Germany for the positive improvements in his game. "I have been training in Germany for the last five years and the centre is one of the best in the world where I get different training partners. The Chinese coach there helped me a lot. The stint there has played a huge role in my career where I could improve a lot and produce these good performances in the recent past. There I improved as a player and also as a person, be it physically, mentally, technically or tactically," Harmeet said.
Harmeet, a multiple medallist at Commonwealth Games and an Asian Games bronze medallist, is excited to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China.
"The schedule is quite tight and hectic after the UTT. There are many tournaments and events on the road before the Asian Games. I am looking forward to the Asian Games this time and I hope that India can repeat the 2018 Asian Games glory and I hope to win a medal again this time," Harmeet said.
