File image of Harmeet Desai.© X (Twitter)
Appearing in his maiden Olympics, seasoned Indian paddler Harmeet Desai progressed to the second round of the men's singles table tennis competition with a convincing 4-0 victory over Jordan's Zaid Abo Yaman at Paris Games here on Saturday. Harmeet won 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 to get his campaign underway on a positive note. Desai had no trouble in getting the better of his opponent, ranked 538 in the world, in the one-sided preliminary round match that lasted exactly 30 minutes.
The 31-year-old from Surat, who was part of the side that clinched the team gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022, quickly settled into a nice rhythm and, on most occasions, came out on top in the long rallies against his Jordanian opponents.
After a comfortable win in the first game, Harmeet picked up from where he left off, taking the lead straight away in Game 2 and continued in the same vein for the remainder of the contest.
An established name in the Indian TT circuit, Harmeet has been toiling for many years in his quest to compete at the Olympics, having played in all other top global competitions.
In Paris, he is competing as one of the two men's singles players from India alongside veteran Sharath Kamal.
Harmeet came into the Olympics after playing in three preparatory tournaments and undergoing personal training in Germany.