It wasn't exactly David v Goliath when HS Prannoy took on Chen Long in the quarters of the Indonesia Open on Friday, but the contrasting career highs of the two players were too hard to ignore.
Chen is a winner of 19 Superseries titles. He is also the reigning Olympic, World and Asian champion. The 28-year-old from China is currently ranked eighth in the world but he entered the match on the back of a 10-match winning streak.
Prannoy, on the other hand, had never made it to a Superseries semi-final before. He came into the tournament after three months on the sidelines but defeated world No. 3 Lee Chong Wei in the previous round.
Their career records, however, did not matter when they were tied at 17-17 in the deciding game. Chen executed almost the perfect kill at the net. Prannoy almost raised his left hand in protest -- perhaps having felt that Chen had crossed the net while executing the shot.
Somehow, the Indian conjured a moment of magic and came up with a lift that sailed over Chen's head and landed in the empty court. Chen was left with an expression of surprise on his face.
And he had every right to be surprised. Prannoy had only won one game in their three previous matches.
So what did Prannoy do right in Jakarta to cause a monumental upset?
Improved court positioning
Prannoy, one of India's most aggressive players, has been guilty of being over-reliant on the smash in the past. "Earlier he was only about attack," former national champion Aparna Popat told ESPN earlier this year. "Every time a shuttle came up, he would smash. I think that's also to do with the Kerala style of play -- they don't like the long rallies since they predominantly play doubles. So a lot of them are physically very strong and able to hit very hard. But in singles that's not the only strategy that works. You've to be able to adapt and that's what he has done."
Prannoy's has shown improved patience of late and it was telling that he won the longest rally of the match against Chen when the score was 16-15 in his favour in the third game.
Handoyo's impact
Speaking to ESPN before the tournament, Prannoy had said, "We have a new coach [Indonesia's Mulyo Handoyo] now. And while his training style is very good, I don't think I have been able to adjust with it too well. Somehow, my style of play isn't allowing me to adapt to newer ways. When there are 50 different players in one centre, I find it difficult to get the sort of confidence that is required on court. I guess I need more time to figure out why this is happening and try to get individual sessions with the coach to work on it accordingly."
Since Prannoy is now one of only two Indians left in the tournament, he must have had the time to have individual sessions with the new coach. Handoyo was seen constantly egging Prannoy on from the sidelines on Friday and the Indian's calm play during clutch points proved to be the difference in the end as both players won an identical 58 points in the match.
Prannoy's play from the back court even made the commentators to compare him with Handoyo's most high-profile protégé - former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat.
Opening up the forehand court
Chen is one of the tallest players on the circuit at 6'1", and his court coverage and positioning is second to none. However, Prannoy's sublime net play and well-measured lifts often dragged Chen wide and left a lot of space on his forehand. Prannoy's execution too was spot on as he mixed down-the-line smashes with backhand pushes to win a lot of points on Chen's forehand.
With this win, Prannoy became the first Indian with wins over the big three of Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Chen. He is also only two wins away from his maiden Superseries title, with his best friend Kidambi Srikanth a likely opponent in Sunday's final.