Harmeet upsets world no 12 & 26 to storm into semis
Surat Paddler assures himself of his first-ever WTT Contender medal
Gandhidham, June 17 : Gujarat’s pride and world no. 134, Harmeet Desai hit the best form of his life in the on-going WTT Contender, Lagos, Nigeria where he first pummelled world no. 12 Jang Woojin of Korea 3-0 (13-11, 11-4, 11-7) in the pre-quarterfinal and then downed world no. 26 Xiang Peng of China 3-1 (11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-1) to storm into the semifinal, thus assuring himself a medal in this prestigious tournament on Saturday.
Now, the 29-year-old Harmeet will face world no. 14 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov in his attempt to secure his berth in the final.
In the other pre-quarterfinal match, world no 122 Manav Thakkar gave up his early lead in the match to go down 2-3 (11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11) to Peng to end his dream run in singles in the tournament.
In the mixed doubles section, world no 4 pair of Manav and Archana Kamath once again gave up early advantage to lose to the world 7 Chinese pair of Xiang Peng and Liu Weishan 2-3 (11-8, 10-12, 11-4, 7-11, 9-11) in a thrilling encounter and settle for a bronze medal.
Focusing on the tough semi-final, Harmeet said all the hard-work he has put in and sacrifices he has made in all these years are bearing results. “I played bold and aggressive TT and will continue to do the same for my semis,” the Surat boy said.
GSTTA president, Shri Pramod Chaudhary extended his best wishes to both state paddlers. “Two Gujarat boys are making the nation proud by winning medals in the WTT Contender event. It’s a proud moment for us,” Shri Chaudhary said.
