WTT Star Contender Chennai table-tennis: There is a good chance for Indians to create upsets, says Harmeet Desai

Indian paddler Harmeet Desai confident in facing tough competition at WTT Star Contender Chennai, aiming for quarterfinal spot.

Irrespective of the draw being favourable or not, Indian paddler Harmeet Desai felt that he could perform well and go deep in the WTT Star Contender Chennai from March 25 to 30.The main draw begins on March 27.

With the likes of World No.3 Tomokazu Harimoto, World No.6 Hugo Calderano, Jonathan Groth (WR 17) and Omar Assar (18) and Quadri Aruna (19), the Commonwealth and Asian Games medallist knows pretty much the odds are stacked against him.

But the 31-year-old, World ranked, 70 said he has defeated quite a few top-ranked players in the past, and is keen to repeat and perform better than the previous two WTT Star Contender editions in Goa where he lost in the main draw first round.

“Definitely there is a good chance for Indians including me to create upsets and get some points in this tournament,” said Harmeet.

Listing his scalps, Harmeet said he has beaten Hugo twice, has defeated Lim Jonghoon (WR 40) and Alvaro Robles (WR 29) and Aruna Quadri (19) once. “I was close to beating An Jaehyun (WR 33) last year. So, there are few players whom I have beaten and a few I came close to winning. Even if I get a tough draw, definitely there is a chance of an upset. And if I get a preferable draw, then I can even go deeper in the tournament. Am aiming for a quarterfinal spot,” he said.

In the men’s doubles at the WTT Star Contender Chennai, Harmeet and Desai are not the favourites, having been granted a wild card. Ranked 95 in the world, Harmeet said he enjoys playing with Sathiyan. “We have known our game so well since childhood. We both have pretty good fast and similar paced game. And we both like to stay close to the table. It’s really nice. And we have had great results in the past. We had won the WTT Contender Tunis in 2021 and remained unbeaten in the doubles event on the way to India winning the men’s team title at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play for a long term. We are getting back to that. And I hope that we can get good results again,” he said.

Twenty-year-old Yashaswini Ghorpade, said Harmeet, is a talented player having come to the International stage in a short span of two years and he is looking forward to playing mixed doubles with her in Chennai. “She has a very good potential. What she has done in the last one or two years is incredible (she is World ranked 80 in women’s singles, her career best),” he said.