Olympics 2024 Table Tennis: Harmeet Desai beats Abo Yaman in straight sets

Indian paddler Harmeet Desai defeats Jordan's Zaid Abo Yaman in the preliminary round of the men's table tennis singles event on Saturday. 

Harmeet won the match in straight sets 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 and will now face French paddler and third seed Felix Lebrun in the next round. 

Slow start by Harmeet 

It was a rather slow start from the Indian as he showed some nerves in the opening exchanges allowing Abo Yaman to stay in the game. 

The two kept canceling out the other's point and for a long time, the scores were level. 

But credit to Harmeet, he never let Abo Yaman get one over him and converted his serve into a two-point lead and since then, did not allow the Jordanian to get back into the game. 

Harmeet eventually won the game 11-7 and went into the second game with renewed confidence. 

But Abo Yaman fought very hard in the second game until the very end and Harmeet had to toil for his win, but eventually held out and took the second game as well, albeit much closer this time. 

Domination from Harmeet 

After a close two games, Harmeet switched gears and took the game to Abo Yaman, leaving him no chance to come back into the match. 

The third match was a classic display of the skill gap between Harmeet and Abo Yaman, as the Jordanian had no answer to the brilliance of Harmeet's gameplay. 

The final match of the match was a repeat of the third, with Harmeet going from strength to strength and wrapped up the game without any fuss. 

Although Abo Yaman fought well, Harmeet's victory was never in doubt. 

Final score: Harmeet 4-0 Abo Yaman (11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5)

What next for Harmeet?

Harmeet will face French paddler Felix Lebrun, ranked fifth in the world and will arguably be Harmeet toughest challenge. 

The game is scheduled to happen on 28th of July.