Achanta Sharath Kamal broke new ground in Indian table tennis when he became the country's first paddler to reach the semi-finals of an ITTF pro-tour event, at the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo.
Sharath scored a convincing 4-1 victory over Christophe Bertin, packing off the Frenchman 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 to book a maiden semi-final appearance in the pro-tour circuit.
In the battle for a berth in the final, Sharath meets another first-timer, Korean Lee Jin Kwon, who beat Canada's Zhang Peng 12-10, 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 14-12.
The 23-year-old lanky paddler from Chennai, who had bagged both the singles and team event gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March, thus achieved a new high in his career.
"My attack was strong today; I was powerful," said Sharath, ranked 124, after the match.
"The fourth game was crucial in the match. I was leading by two games to one but Christophe was ahead 10-7. I won the next five points and that turned the match in my favour," he said.
Bertin had caused an upset in the second round, beating third seed Bojan Tokic of Slovenia.
But the Indian, who is aiming to break into the top 50 this year, had read the Frenchman's game well and made him play his weak forehand by pushing him backwards.
"I thought about the match; I watched Christophe play yesterday. He's tall like me, so he has a good reach and that means he's good near the net. So, all the time I tried to force him back," Sharath said.
"Also, I knew he had a good service and a strong backhand. So, as the match progressed, I played more and more to his forehand."
Sharath had defeated Brazil's Cazuo Matsumoto and Portugal's Joao Monteiro in the first two rounds.
Table Tennis Federation of India secretary Mool Chand Chowhan termed Sharath's achievement as a proud moment for Indian table tennis.
"This is a proud moment for everyone. This is the first time that any Indian has reached the semi-finals of a pro-tour event and it is a very creditable performance as some of the top players are playing there."
Argentina's Liu Song caused a major upset in another quarter-final, beating top seed Kaii Yoshida of Japan in a thrilling seven-game encounter.
Liu Song won 11-7, 12-10, 6-11, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 and will take on Korea's Cho Eon Rae for a place in the final.
Sharath will next take part in the Chile and US Opens.
