Hosted at Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University, the contest kept spectators on the edge. Snehit’s early setbacks didn’t deter him; instead, they ignited a fiery response with commanding wins in games three and four.

The decider was pure tension. Snehit shared his mental strategy: ‘I focused solely on each point, ignoring the scoreboard after messing up prior match points.’

The 25-year-old admitted playing without pressure helped. ‘No expectations meant I was loose. Losing the first two games 9-11 and 15-17 surprisingly built my confidence for the turnaround.’

On the doubles front, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai dominated France’s third-seeded duo Florian Bourasod and Esteban Dor 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-7), storming into the men’s doubles semifinals against Korea’s Lim Jonghoon and Oh Junseong.

Wildcard pair Payas Jain and Sindrella Das also shone in mixed doubles, defeating top seeds Manush Shah and Diya Chitale 3-1 (12-10, 13-11, 10-12, 11-9) to reach the semifinals.

This performance underscores India’s depth in table tennis, with Snehit’s grit promising more excitement ahead in Chennai.