Daijiworld Media Network - Beijing
Beijing, Oct 8: Indian paddlers Manush Shah and Diya Chitale created history by becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to reach the semifinals of a WTT Grand Smash after defeating Romania's Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs 3-0 at the China Smash in Beijing on Wednesday.
The fifth-seeded Indian duo produced a dominant performance in the quarterfinal, winning 11-9, 13-11, 11-3 to book their place in the last four.
The historic run marks a significant milestone for Indian table tennis at the Grand Smash level.
However, Manav Thakkar's campaign in the men's singles came to an end in the round of 32 after he suffered a 0-3 defeat against seventh-seeded Frenchman Alexis Lebrun.
In women's doubles, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade were knocked out in the round of 16 following a narrow 2-3 loss to China's Gao Yuxin and Xiang Junlin.