Upsets were few and far between as the Men's Singles first round matches started at the Qatar Open in Doha on the afternoon of Friday 19th February 2010; in fact they were non existent.

Well that was until India's Sharath Kamal Achanta took to the stage.

Severely tested in the qualification stage of proceedings by Russia's Viacheslav Burov, India's top player arguably drew the ideal opponent in the first round.

He drew Chen Weixing, the Austrian defender with as fearsome forehand.

Fearsome Forehand

Fearsome forehand, now that is Sharath Kamal Achanta.

In that respect he is very different from what is perceived to be the traditional Indian player; fleet of foot, fast counter attacking skills but no great power is the Indian tradition.

Sharath Kamal Achanta has broken the mould and it was his almighty forehand, directed time and time again towards the backhand of Chen Weixing that caused the Austrian's downfall.

Attacking the long pimples on the backhand side of Chen Weixing's racket; Sharath Kamal Achanta was in the comfort zone. The only persons in danger being the respective coaches who might have been decapitated by the exocet pile drivers.

Lost in Champions League

"Last September I played Chen Weixing in the European Champions League", reflected Sharath Kamal Achanta. "I won the first two games, then he became more aggressive, he won the next two games, I had match point in the fifth but lost."

Aggression was Chen Weixing's only real hope; defending he was resigned to fielding practice and aggression paid dividends.

After losing the first three games Chen Weixing attacked more from the forehand and caused the recently crowned Indian Men's Singles champion problems.

He won the fourth and fifth games but in the sixth Sharath Kamal Achanta resumed control; the juggernaut was not to be halted.

Determined

"In 2006 I played him on the ITTF Pro Tour and lost a close match", added Sharath Kamal Achanta. "This time I wasn't going to let it happen again!"

The mood was determined and he delighted his team mates gathered in the tiered seating who had supported him vocally from point one; knowing he had a real chance of causing an upset.

Chen Weixing currently occupies the no.24 spot on the ITTF Men's World Rankings and is the no.14 seed in Qatar; conversely Sharath Kamal Achanta was not seeded and is ranked at no.74.

Third Time Lucky

Third time lucky for Sharath Kamal Achanta, having lost his too previous battles against the Austrian, and it was third time lucky for India on the third day of play in Doha.

Earlier in the day Madhurika Patkar had come within a whisker of extended China's Liu Shiwen, the world no.1, to seven games; whilst soon after Mouma Das had held match point against Hong Kong's Jiang Huajun.

Both had fallen short, not Sharath Kamal Achanta; he delivered.