Harmeet overcomes Amalraj to win Indonesia crown

PUNE: Harmeet Desai hadn't won against Anthony Amalraj since 2016. Weak defence and inconsistency were pulling the paddler down not just against his compatriot but also against other opponents. However, on Sunday, he outclassed Amalraj 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 for the Indonesia Open title in Batam.
The India No. 4 was not nervous, despite going against an opponent, who had not dropped a game coming into the final of the tournament."I have been losing to him for three years so it would have just added to the number of losses," the paddler told TOI after winning his maiden tour title.
"I had no mental block before the match. I was going into it like just another match against Anthony who has been in supreme form."
After taking a 1-0 lead, Harmeet conceded the next game. But he took the next two games, going 3-1 up. He dropped another game but sealed the match in the sixth for the title.

World No. 104 Harmeet, 26, has turned his fortune around this year. From being ranked 60 in 2019, he fell 47 places as this year started. "I had a bad start this year. I made errors and was inconsistent on many occasions. I talked to my coaches and worked on these problems," he said.
In July, the Surat paddler made amends and stunned his colleague G Sathiyan, ranked 30, to win the Commonwealth Championships in Cuttack. "Since then, things have only been uphill for me. I won the Arjuna award after that and now I became the first Indian to win in Indonesia on tour," he said.
He trains in Germany in a town named Bad Homburg near Frankfurt. The Indian team has not had a full-time coach since Massimo Constantini's departure after Asian Games in 2018. Croatian Dejan Papic was appointed in July this year but he has been away for his surgery ever since. "Having a coach will only help the team to plan well for tournaments," said Harmeet. "It will help lay a foundation since we play many team events in tours. I am glad that all the players have been doing so well without a national coach but we need one soon since the Olympic team qualifiers are coming in January."
Harmeet's form is a good sign for the Indian contingent ahead of the Olympics 2020 team qualification event that will be held in January next year.