Harmeet first from Surat to win gold for India in Commonwealth Games

Surat: It was an atmosphere of celebration in Desai Bungalows at Sultanabad near Dumas on Monday afternoon. A large number of people visited to congratulate the proud parents — Rajul and Archana Desai — on the gold-winning feat of their paddler son Harmeet Desai in Gold Coast on Monday. Harmeet, in the process, became first Surti to win a gold medal for the country.
Reacting to his son’s outstanding success, Rajul Desai said, “We had a tense time since morning. We wanted a gold medal for the country and Harmeet delivered it .” A jubilant mother Archana said, “We are very happy that years of hard work has paid off for Harmeet. We are now hoping him to do well in individual events and win a medal for the country.”

Harmeet played a crucial role in winning the historic gold in men’s team event of table tennis at the Commonwealth Games as India thrashed Nigeria 3-0 in the final. This followed the golden feat of women’s team a day earlier.

The 24-year-old Harmeet, number three in singles ranking in the country, has been a doubles specialist. In fact, at Gold Coast, he won all his doubles matches partnering Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the absence of regular partner Soumyajit Ghosh.
An MBA in human resources, Harmeet is the younger of the two sons of Rajul and Archana, who run a school in Surat. Harmeet took up the sport at the age of six and has never looked back since then.
During his formative years, his elder brother Haraday was his partner, coach and guide. He now runs a sports equipment shop and coaches young paddlers.
Employed with ONGC, Harmeet spends majority of his time practising in European countries like Poland and Portugal and playing as a professional in European TT leagues. Ranked 23 in world in doubles, Harmeet also won a world championship team bronze medal.
by via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India