He has been the silent contributor in Indian men’s slow rise on the table as a force to reckon with in the international arena. In fact, his presence, contribution and achievements have been overshadowed by the duo from Chennai.
But the last 14 months or so have witnessed him getting all the attention – and praise – deservingly. His sterling performance on the table has led to recognition from various quarters. No wonder then that Harmeet Desai was at the forefront of a historic moment to cap off the fifth season of Ultimate Table Tennis in Chennai on September 7.
Riding on the captain’s sensational game and his ability to get the teams to back each other in a format as convoluted as UTT, Harmeet created plenty of firsts over the last three weeks at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
He became the first player to be a part of a winning side in UTT twice, that too in succession. That he did it as captain on both the occasions was like a cherry on top. And he did it for the same franchise – the Goa Challengers – to help the team create a first as well made the dessert even more delectable.
Harmeet Desai.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU
No wonder then that when Harmeet did a Lionel Messi-like slow walk after accepting the glittering UTT trophy from co-promoters Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani to rejoice with his teammates, he had every reason to hog the limelight.
The moment was also a metaphorical completion of a full circle for Harmeet. After all, it was at the UTT 2023 that started the dream run for Harmeet, who had to cope with the disappointment of losing out on the singles entry for Asian Games.
In between, not only did he play a sterling role in helping India qualify for the Olympic team event for the first time but also made his debut Olympic sojourn special by winning his maiden singles match at the quadrennial extravaganza.
Special win
“It’s a really big title because it shows how strong you are. You have to keep up your game right through the tournament. Every single point count, every set counts here, so winning it twice makes it really special,” Harmeet said.
“It’s not only the talk of Indian table tennis, but all over the world, so UTT is really special. Everybody wants to play UTT year after year, and there are many players who want to keep up the world ranking just to play UTT. So definitely it’s a special thing for everyone and winning it twice makes it very special for me.”
Harmeet didn’t start the tournament particularly well, going down to Cho Seungmin – the first Korean to feature in UTT – during the Challengers’ opening tie against debutant outfit Jaipur Patriots.
But as the tournament progressed, he upped the ante – both in singles and along with his mixed doubles partner Yangzi Liu. By the time the Challengers survived a scare by Chennai Lions and entered the knockouts, Harmeet was at his best.
“I didn’t start so well in the first two matches, but I am really grateful that I had such a bunch of teammates and coaches that they believed in me. They kept on pushing me, saying I can do it and I am really happy that I could contribute for the team and make this happen.”
No wonder then that he led from the front in the semifinal and the final to help his team to a historic triumph. In the semifinals, against run-away favourites PBG Bengaluru Smashers, he and Yangzi built on a sensational start by Mihai Bobocica and gave the team a crucial 5-4 lead at the end of the mixed doubles tie.
Harmeet – who had saved himself for the fourth singles tie – then was all over Jeet Chandra and raced to a 3-0 win and sealed the deal for his team.
In the final, Harmeet decided to compete up front, that too against G. Sathiyan, his archrival since sub-junior days. Despite Sathiyan enjoying crowd support, Harmeet trumped him in the battle of captains to set the tone for the Challengers who never looked back from there on.
“In this kind of a league, it’s really important that you move on from the victories and losses both. It’s really important to get a fresh start and that’s what we were saying even after our qualification that it’s a new tournament for us,” Harmeet said.
“We won against both the very strong teams – Bangalore (Bengaluru Smashers) and Dabang (Delhi). We lost to them in the qualification, but we didn’t carry the baggage in the knockouts. We just wanted to start positively and start afresh. That really helped us.”
Perhaps Harmeet coming into his element on the table also had to do with the fact that his reunion with wife Krittwika – also a paddler who was his UTT teammate in 2023 – was extended on a surprising note.
Having been away from each other ever since Harmeet left India for pre-Olympic preparations on June 17, Krittwika arrived in Chennai from her international event midway through UTT. Suddenly, she got a call from the organisers asking for her availability as a replacement player for Ahmedabad SG Pipers. As a result, her three-day stay in Chennai was extended. With her team bowing out to Dabang Delhi in the semifinal, Krittwika was cheering loudly for Harmeet and his teammates from the VIP gallery during the final.
Olympic debut and UTT title defence having been ticked off, Harmeet is confident he is not done yet for the year. He wants to make 2024 even more special, with a memorable outing in the next month’s Asian Table Tennis Championships.
“If we end up on the podium over there, it will be a perfect cap off to the year,” Harmeet said, with a wide smile.
Published – September 09, 2024 11:03 pm IST
