UTT 2024: Resolute defence and YouTube — How Cho Seungmin toppled higher-ranked Harmeet Desai

Debutant Jaipur Patriots did not get an ideal start to the fifth season of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), succumbing to a 6-9 loss against the defending champion Goa Challengers on Thursday.

However, the tournament debut of South Korea’s Cho Seungmin, who was part of the Patriots’ camp, was nothing less than spectacular.

With enormous pressure to kick off his UTT stint on a positive note, a stolid Seungmin entered the arena.

The fact that he was facing one of the top paddlers in India, Harmeet Desai, did not make things any easier. The disparity in their world rankings was glaring. Harmeet is ranked 85th in the world, while Seungmin is 146th.

Seungmin’s first few minutes in the middle went by in a flash. Harmeet was at his dominant best, capitalising on every small error and making his opponent pay with inch-perfect returns.

“New place, new tournament and fresh faces made me nervous. It was hard for me to focus at first,” Seungmin said when he recalled the match. Harmeet bulldozed his way through the first game, 11-2, to give the Challengers an early boost.

But Seungmin returned with determination and looked like a different player altogether in the second game. He maintained a level head and had answers for whatever Harmeet threw his way. He avoided the pressing game, started defending the tricky moves, lapped up the openings that were offered, and pocketed the game 11-1.

The Korean international carried the momentum to the third game and was comfortably placed at the halfway break, leading 5-1.

His stamp of authority was reserved for the final shot of the match. Harmeet checked his shot at the last moment but still misplaced his drop. Seungmin rocked back and responded with a backhand smash to cap off his stunning comeback.

Seungmin revealed that watching match highlights was a major part of his preparations ahead of the tournament. “Apart from regular practice, I watched a lot of videos on YouTube to understand Harmeet’s style,” said the 26-year-old.

“Harmeet’s match against Lim Jonghoon, who’s also from my country, at the WTT contender tournament (in 2023) taught me a lot. Harmeet won the match 3-2, but I could figure out his strengths and weaknesses,” he added.

Harmeet, too, acknowledged that his opponent was technically superior.

“He (Seungmin) used the variations to his advantage and didn’t allow me to use my feet as much as I would’ve liked. I take this as a lesson, and I hope to work on it and come back stronger in the next game,” said Harmeet, who bounced back with a 2-1 win in the mixed doubles tie, partnering up with Yangzi Liu of Australia.

Interestingly, in the only other instance where these two paddlers met, Seungmin came out on top 3-2 at the Asian Table Tennis Championship back in 2021 in Doha. He went on to win gold in the men’s team event while India clinched bronze.

Cut to the present, the Patriots next face a star-studded U-Mumba on Sunday. Seungmin says he cannot wait to get back to the drawing board and continue delivering for his team.

“We have a match against U-Mumba in three days. They have the likes of Manav (Thakkar) and Quadri (Aruna) and are a really good side. The first thing I’ll be doing is searching for these names on YouTube to learn more about them.” said Seungmin.