Harmeet Desai Height, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Table Tennis Player
Famous for	Winning the Arjuna Award in 2019
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 167 cm in meters- 1.67 m in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 63 kg in pounds- 138 lbs
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Table Tennis
Playing style	Right-handed, Shakehand grip
Ranking	International Ranking- 71 (as of August 2021) National Ranking- 4 (as of 2021)
Medals	International Medals Gold • Gold medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Circuit India Junior & Cadet Open (U-15 Team Championships) in Goa • Gold medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Circuit Canada Open (U-15 Team Championships) in Montreal • Gold medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Circuit Canada Open (U-15 Men’s Doubles) in Montreal • Gold medal at the 2009 South Asian Federation Games (U-15 Team Championships) in Jaipur • Gold medal at the 2010 South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships (U-18 Team Championships) in Dehradun, India • Gold medal at the 2010 South Asian Federation Games Championship (Junior Team Championships) in India • Gold medal at the 2010 South Asian Federation Games Championship (Junior Men’s Doubles) in India • Gold medal at the 2011 South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships (Team Championships) in India • Gold medal at the 2012 Fajr Cup (Men's Singles) in Iran • Gold medal at the 2012 ITTF World Tour Brazil Open (Men's Singles) • Gold medal at the 2013 Lusofonia Games (Team Championships) in India • Gold medal at the 2013 Lusofonia Games (Men’s Singles) in India • Gold medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships (Men's Team Championships) in India • Gold medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships (Men's Doubles) in India • Gold medal at the 2015 Asian Table Tennis Championships (Men's Team Championships) in Thailand • Gold medal at the 2016 World Team Championships (Men's Team Championships) in Malaysia • Gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Team Championships) in Gold Coast, Australia • Gold medal at the 2019 South Asian Games (Men's Team Championships) in Nepal • Gold medal at the 2019 South Asian Games (Mixed Doubles) in Nepal • Gold medal at the 2019 South Asian Games (Men's Doubles) in Nepal • Gold medal at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Indonesia Open (Men's Singles) • Gold medal at the 2019 ITTF Asian Championships (Men's Team Championships) in Indonesia • Gold medal at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships (Men's Team Championships) in India • Gold medal at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships (Men's Singles) in India • Gold medal at the 2021 WTT Contender Tunis (Men's Doubles) • Gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (Men’s Doubles) in the UK Silver • Silver medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Circuit India Junior & Cadet Open (U-15 Category) • Silver medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Circuit Taiyuan Open (U-15 Team Championships) in China • Silver medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Championships New Zealand Junior Open (U-15 Team Championships) • Silver medal at the 2009 Taiyuan International Junior & Cadet Open (U-18 Singles) in China • Silver medal at the 2010 Ängby International Table Tennis (U-18 Singles) in Sweden • Silver medal at the 2010 South Asian Federation Games Championship (Junior Singles) in India • Silver medal at the 2011 South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships (Junior Singles) in India • Silver medal at the 2013 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships (Team Championships) in India • Silver medal at the 2015 ITTF World Tour Australia Open (Challenge) Table Tennis Championships (Men's Doubles) • Silver medal at the 2017 Challenge Polish Open (Men's Doubles) • Silver medal at the 2019 South Asian Games (Men's Singles) in Nepal • Silver medal at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships (Mixed Doubles) In India Bronze • Bronze medal at the 2006 World Junior Circuit Taiyuan Open (U-15 Category) in China • Bronze medal at the 2007 ITTF World Junior Circuit Taiyuan Open (U-15 Category) in China • Bronze medal at the 2008 Indian Junior Open ITTF Junior Circuit (U-15 Men’s Doubles) • Bronze medal at the 2008 Children Of Asia Mini Olympics (U-15 Men’s Doubles) in Russia • Bronze medal at the 2009 Taiyuan International Junior & Cadet Open (U-18 Team Championships) in China • Bronze medal at the 2009 Indian Junior & Cadet Open – ITTF Junior Circuit (U-18 Team Championships) • Bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships (U-18 Team Championships) in Thailand • Bronze medal at the 2012 Fajr Cup (Team Championships) in Iran • Bronze medal at the 2013 Lusofonia Games (Mixed Doubles) in India • Bronze medal at the 2013 Brazil Open Table Tennis Championship (Men's Singles) • Bronze medal at the 2017 Challenge Zagreb (Croatia) Open (Men's Singles) • Bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games (Team Championships) in Indonesia • Bronze medal at the 2018 Thailand Open (Men's Doubles) • Bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Men's Doubles) in Gold Coast, Australia • Bronze medal at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Indonesia Open (Men's Doubles) • Bronze medal at the 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open (Men's Singles) • Bronze medal at the 2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships (Team Championships) in Doha, Qatar • Bronze medal at the 2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships (Men's Doubles) in Doha, Qatar National Medals Gold • Gold medal at the 2007 National Ranking Championship (North Zone) (Junior Boys’ Singles) in New Delhi • Gold medal at the 2010 Junior & Youth National and Inter-State Championship (Junior Boys’ Singles) in Chattisgarh • Gold medal at the 2013 National Ranking Table Tennis Championship (Central Zone) (Youth Boys’ Singles) in Gujarat • Gold medal at the 2013 National Ranking Table Tennis Championship (Central Zone) (Men's Singles) in Gujarat • Gold medal at the 2015 National Games (Men's Doubles) in Cochin • Gold medal at the 2015 National Ranking Championship (East Zone) (Men's Singles) in Assam • Gold medal at the 2016 Senior National Table Tennis Championships (Mixed Doubles) in Hyderabad • Gold medal at the 2016 National Ranking Championship (Central Zone) (Men's Singles) in Madhya Pradesh • Gold medal at the 2018 Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships (Men’s Team Championship) in Ranchi • Gold medal at the 2019 UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships (South Zone) (Men's Singles) in Kerala • Gold medal at 2019 All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships (Men’s Team Championship) in Ajmer • Gold medal at the 2020 Senior National & Inter-State Championships (Men’s Team Championship) in Hyderabad • Gold medal at the 2020 Senior National & Inter-State Championships (Men's Singles) in Hyderabad Silver • Silver medal at the 2006 Sub Junior National & Inter-State Championships (Sub-junior Boys’ Doubles) in Kerala • Silver medal at the 2007 National Ranking Championship (Central Zone) (Junior Boys’ Singles) in Gujarat • Silver medal at the 2008 National Ranking Championship (East) (Sub-junior Boys’ Singles) in Kolkata • Silver medal at the 2008 Junior & Youth National and Inter-State Championship (Boys' Doubles) in Gujarat • Silver medal at the 2011 National Games (Men's Team Championship) in Ranchi • Silver medal at the 2011 Youth Nationals (Men's Team Championship) in Ahmedabad • Silver medal at the 2012 Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championship (Mixed Doubles) in Ranchi • Silver medal at the 2014 Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championship (Men's Singles) in Bihar • Silver medal at 2014 All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championship (Men's Doubles) in New Delhi • Silver medal at the 2015 Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championship (Men's Singles) in Puducherry • Silver medal at the 2015 National Games (Men's Singles) in Cochin • Silver medal at the 2015 National Games (Men's Team Championship) in Cochin • Silver medal at 2015 All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championship (Men's Singles) in New Delhi • Silver medal at 2015 All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championship (Men's Doubles) in New Delhi • Silver medal at the 2015 National Ranking Championship (South Zone) (Men's Singles) in Chennai • Silver medal at the 2017 All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships (Men's Singles) in New Delhi • Silver medal at the 2017 National Ranking Championship (East Zone) (Men's Singles) in Siliguri • Silver medal at 2018 All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships (Men's Singles) in Coimbatore • Silver medal at the 2019 Senior National and Inter-State Championships (Men's Team Championship) in Odisha • Silver medal at the 2019 Ranking Championships (East Zone) (Men's Singles) in West Bengal Bronze • Bronze medal at the 2006 Junior National & Inter-State Championship (Junior Boys’ Singles) in Odisha • Bronze medal at the 2006 Sub-Junior National & Inter-State Championships (Junior Boys’ Singles) in Kerala • Bronze medal at the 2008 Junior & Youth National and Inter-State Championship (Men's Team Championship) in Gujarat • Bronze medal at the 2011 National Games (Men's Singles) in Jharkhand • Bronze medal at the 2014 National Ranking Championship (North Zone) (Men's Singles) in Uttar Pradesh • Bronze medal at the 2016 National Ranking Championship (North Zone) (Men's Singles) in Chandigarh • Bronze medal at the 2016 National Ranking Championship (South Zone) (Men's Singles) in Andhra Pradesh • Bronze medal at the 2017 Senior National Table Tennis Championships (Men's Singles) in Haryana • Bronze medal at the 2017 National Ranking Championship (Central Zone) (Men's Singles) in Madhya Pradesh
Awards	• Khel Pratibha Award by the Government of India (2018) • Arjuna Award by the Government of India (2019)
Career Turning Point	Winning a gold medal in the team championships at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia
Personal Life
Date of Birth	19 July 1993 (Monday)
Age (as of 2022)	29 Years
Birthplace	Surat, Gujarat, India
Zodiac sign	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Olpad, Gujarat, India
School	HMB Sardar High School Note According to Harmeet, he studied at nine different schools throughout his schooling.
College/University	Rajasthan University
Educational Qualification	B.Com [1]Gold Coast 2018
Hobbies	Reading and watching documentaries
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Kritika Sinha (table tennis player)
Marriage Date	12 October 2021
Family
Wife/Spouse	Kritika Sinha (table tennis player)
Parents	Father- Rajul P Desai (table tennis player) Mother- Archana Desai (teacher)
Siblings	Brother- Hraday Desai (elder, table tennis player)
Favourites
Sportsperson	Rafael Nadal
Actor	Shah Rukh Khan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Harmeet Desai

• Harmeet Desai is a senior-level table tennis player from India who was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2019. He once again came into the limelight after winning a gold medal along with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the final match of the table tennis mixed doubles event held at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

• According to Harmeet Singh, his journey as a table tennis player began when he was six years old.

• Harmeet Desai claimed that he had to frequently change schools as most of the schools in which he studied did not give any concession in attendance to him; therefore, it became very difficult for him to cope as he had to manage his table tennis career and attendance in school at the same time. He also claimed that because of his hectic schedule, he had to miss out on classes and could only appear for the exams in school. In an interview, he claimed,
  

  I have studied in quite a number of schools because I changed a lot of schools; about nine schools actually. So it was pretty hard for me to achieve my goal like this. As I was playing tournaments I had to travel a lot. So back then, my school in the city did not try to understand. I had to miss out classes a lot. Though I was a good student as in good in the studies, I could only appear for the exams. Some of the schools never really supported me and that made me change schools again and again.”

  

  Harmeet Desai being honoured in his school in 2001

• During the initial phase of his career, he was trained by his father. Harmeet in an interview also claimed that his father had to leave his job to help him train for his table tennis tournaments. He said,
  

  My father taught me how to play table tennis. He taught me from the very basics of the game. He even left his job so that he could give me more time.”

  

  Harmeet Desai playing table tennis with his father

• After his father, Harmeet Desai was trained by Peter Karlsson, a Swedish Olympic medallist and under his guidance, Harmeet Desai participated in and won several state, national, and international level tournaments.

• In 2001, Harmeet Desai joined the Petroleum Table Tennis Academy (PTTA) in Ajmer, where he was trained by an ace table tennis player from China named Yin Wei.

• In 2018, a letter was written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Harmeet Desai in which he invited the table tennis player to join the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission initiative. He also asked him to encourage his followers to join the initiative as well.
  

  The letter which was written by PM Modi to Harmeet Desai

• In 2019, Harmeet Desai participated in the Fit India run, supporting the government’s Fit India initiative.
  

  Harmeet Desai receiving the certificate of appreciation for endorsing the Fit India initiative

• On 2 August 2022, Harmeet Desai won a gold medal in the mixed doubles event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG). There, he played the final match with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran against the Singaporean table tennis team, and the duo defeated them by a margin of 3-1.
  

  Harmeet Desai with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran during their match which was held on 2 August 2022

• In an interview, Harmeet Desai claimed that had he not decided to pursue a career in table tennis; he would have made a career in the Indian Army as an officer. He said,
  

  I think I would have joined the Indian army as an offcier as I had been very passionate about it since my childhood. I admire the men in uniform a lot. Since childhood, I have been very patriotic. I always wanted to do something for my nation. Though what I do is very trivial to what the army men do. So if it wasn’t a table tennis player I would love to opt for it.”

• After winning several medals for India, Harmeet Desai joined the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) through the sports quota.