Star Indian paddler Harmeet Desai has played a key role in India’s gold medals in the team competition at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games and believes that India can beat any team at the Paris Olympics. He insisted on Thursday that the team’s preparations were well on track to perform at their best in the French capital. The Indian TT contingent made history earlier this year when both the men’s and women’s teams qualified for the Olympics for the first time and the preparation camps, in Bengaluru from June 7-16 and in Saarbrucken, Germany earlier this month, were aimed at fine-tuning the perfect combinations for the team events at the Paris Olympics, scheduled from July 26 to August 11.
“On any given day, I think we have a really good chance of beating any team. We've beaten top teams in the world in the past and it's possible this time too if we do our best. At the Olympics, anything is possible if all three of us can put on the best show,” the 31-year-old Desai said during an interview with Ultimate Table Tennis.
Desai is part of the Indian men's team, along with Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. He will also compete in the individual events.
Desai's confidence comes after the Indian men's team defeated a strong Japan in the quarterfinals to claim the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games.
Speaking about the rise of Indian table tennis on the world stage, Desai said the development of the sport is due to various central government programmes and the launch of Ultimate Table Tennis in 2017.
“UTT has helped us gain more experience and exposure to play with international players and get guidance from foreign coaches. That was not the case before 2017. So, this kind of experience has helped the players gain more confidence and perform well in the international arena,” he said.
The Indian men's team will play China in the opening round, while the women's team will open their campaign against Romania. The individual events will be played from July 27 to August 4, while the team events are scheduled from August 5 to 10.
After the Paris Olympics, India’s representatives from the Games and emerging talent from the country will compete against each other, as well as some international stars, at the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024, which will take place in Chennai from August 22 to September 7.
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