Wiser after study tour

He is sharp in his responses and surprises the opponent by his aggression. Even when he hits some winners across the net,there is not much celebration as he is busy preparing for the next point. Though he lost a close first game,Harmeet won 4-1. The youngster says that his trip abroad had played a big role in his triumph.

Though he made it to the last 12 probables for the Indian paddlers team for the Commonwealth Games this year,Harmeet missed the final cut. However,its not the misses but the gains he recounts from the whole experience. Being a part of the national camp for so long included,apart from interacting with table tennis big wigs Sharath Kamal and Soumyadeep Roy,a trip to China enhanced Harmeet’s attack. Ultimately,Harmeet couldn’t even watch India play at the Games but that too was a sacrifice for some more training.

Despite being only 17-year-old,Harmeet became the 3rd ranked in the men’s singles category earlier in the year,and seeing his improvement in the Indian camp,the federation with government’s aid sent him to train under former world champion Peter Karlsson in Sweden. “The three months of training there improved my game immensely. I have learnt some new techniques like tackling the half-ball,something that is not taught here,” Harmeet says after his first round win in the men’s singles.

The Sweden trip took him a step ahead where the focus was to increase his agility,speed and endurance. “Karlsson taught me about coming inside a lot,and then going back with equal quickness. He also analysed my serve and told me to bend more and improvise on it,” he says.

The initial plan was for Harmeet to get a six month training but in the next three months he has to appear for his class 12th board examinations. But Harmeet says he is not one to quit his game because of academic pressure. Just that he some books accompany him for which he tries to find time at the sidelines of this event.