Lesser games hurt my Olympic chances: Desai

Lack of tournaments due to Covid-19 has hurt the chances of Indian male table tennis players apart from Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to make it to the Tokyo Olympics, according to national champion Harmeet Desai. Desai, 27, was in great form as he finished in the last four at the Oman Open just before the coronavirus outbreak. “We have a strong team, so it will be very difficult for me to get ahead of the top two. Sharath and Sathiyan are really strong players,” said Desai while talking on Indian paddler Mudit Dani’s online live chat show ‘In The Sportlight’. “It would have been much better for me if I could have got a chance to play more international tournaments in this period because I didn’t have the pressure of defending any of the points, I only had the chance to gain points after my performance at the Oman Open. It’s sad that the chance is gone and I am in all likelihood missing the bus this time.”