New Delhi: India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha achieved the unachievable as he stunned four-time world snooker champion Mark Selby to script history at the English Open in Brentwood. Ishpreet secured a place in the semifinals of the event in style with a 5-4 triumph over his hero Selby. By virtue of this victory, Ishpreet became the first player from India to reach the semis of a snooker ranking tournament since over a decade.
The last time an Indian matched this record was snooker player Aditya Mehta, who had stormed into the last-four stage of the 2013 Italian Open. The snooker player from Mumbai gave up his career as a professional gamer in the world of E-Sports just to focus and chase his ultimate dream of competing on the World Snooker Tour. The talented snooker player achieved the goal couple of years back when he negotiated Asia/Oceania Q School.
Ishpreet snatches victory from jaws of defeat
The chance of storming into the semis disappeared for a while when his opponent Selby recovered from 4-1 down to lead 63-8 in the decider. However, the Indian snooker player, who is ranked 77 in the world rankings, kept his calm, working his way back into the frame before snatching a sensational victory from the jaws of defeat. Selby had the opportunities to complete the comeback in the final frame, but couldn’t convert them, owing to a tactful play from the Indian.
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“I was expecting him to come back, even though I was 4-1 up. I knew it was far from over, because I was playing Mark Selby. I have watched so many of his matches. I’ve not missed any of his world finals. I watched every single frame, even though it can get boring when he is playing safety. I just love watching him and he is my favourite snooker player,” Ishpreet said after the monumental victory.
Ishpreet had already registered wins over Simon Blackwell, Graeme Dott, Jak Jones, Hossein Vafaei and He Guoqiang at the Brentwood Centre to become the first Indian ranking quarter-finalist in 11 years. Ishpreet will now be up against China’s Wu Yize in a tough semifinal clash. India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha scored a famous 5-4 victory over his hero Mark Selby to clinch a place in the semi-finals of the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
