Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran wins Belgian Open, lifts maiden ITTF title

In one of the biggest moments of his career, Indian ace paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran become only the second Indian table tennis player to win an ITTF event.

He achieved this remarkable feat when he clinched the men's singles title of the Belgium Open. Sathiyan won his first pro title on the world tour by defeating the Belgian Nuytinck Cedric 4-0 in the final 15-13, 11-6, 11-2, 17-15 at De Haan in front of his home fans.

Meanwhile, Achanta Sharath Kamal is the first Indian to win an ITTF event in 2012.

Sathiyan, a 24-year-old from Chennai had made it to the finals by upsetting several high ranked players in his earlier rounds.

He inflicted heavy casualties by first taking out world number 103 Jon Persson and then upsetting, world number 75 Steffen Mengel in the quarterfinals.