Ishpreet Singh Chadha knocked out reigning champion Gary Wilson to advance to the last 32 of the Welsh Open on Monday.
The Indian trailed 3-2 but took the last couple of frames to secure a 4-3 win and his third victory in the tournament so far, having emerged from the first two rounds of last week’s qualifiers.
Chadha is nearing the end of his first two-year stint on the World Snooker Tour and is on course to successfully retain his status as a professional.
The 28 year-old has broken inside the top 64 on the provisional end-of-season rankings, and with no points to defend from two years ago his chances look strong.
Taking the scalp of Wilson – the current world number 14 – will be another confidence booster during a season in which he memorably reached the semi-finals of the English Open.
“It felt amazing playing in Wales, in Llandudno – it’s an amazing city,” Ishpreet Singh Chadha told the World Snooker Tour.
“I think I was on it from the first get-go, and he was a little bit off. But it was a tough match to win, especially against a three-times Home Nations series champion.”
“I think I was tough mentally even before I qualified as a professional, but a little bit here and there in the technical side of my game has been a lot better this season.
“My coach back in India has helped me a lot during the break, the off-season in between my first and second seasons, so I think it’s a mixture.
“As I’m playing better, I feel more confident in my mind as well.
“I’m very high up on the one-year list, so I think, at worst case, if I’m not in the top 64, I’ll get a fresh two-year card.
“I’m not at all thinking about that. Even if I was way down the rankings – maybe at 100 or something – I wouldn’t be thinking about that and just playing my game.
“When I qualified, I just wanted to be out there playing and not thinking about anything.
“But I’m so close to the 64 now, it feels like a nice achievement if I can be in the 64 after my first two seasons.
“That’ll be a big achievement, and I think that’d be a big boost for me.”
Chadha has had huge support from his friends and family since joining the main tour, notably his mother who has been a regular presence at events and represents the most important person in his corner.
“If there’s just one person in the crowd, I want it to be my mum,” the former Asian Championship runner-up said.
“I don’t care if nobody is watching, if nobody is cheering for me, I just need my mum in the audience and I’m good to go.”
“It’s just such a big boost for me when playing in events that she is with me, and I feel very safe with her.”
Next up for Chadha at the Venue Cymru will be Jackson Page, the home hopeful moving forward in the competition with a 4-2 victory over Jimmy Robertson.
Elsewhere on day one, there were victories for a lot of the high-profile contenders.
Record five-time Welsh Open champion John Higgins had little trouble in dispatching fellow Scot Graeme Dott with a whitewash display.
Neil Robertson beat Mark Davis to boost his chances of pocketing the £150,000 Home Nations bonus that’s on offer this season.
It was a tough opening outing for Mark Allen, but the Pistol managed to emerge with a 4-3 triumph over Stan Moody.
Welsh legend Mark Williams and recent Championship League winner Mark Selby progressed while other former champions Robert Milkins and Stephen Maguire prolonged their stays this year as well.
Among the others to bow out early were 2017 champion Stuart Bingham and Chinese world number 12 Si Jiahui, who lost to Robbie Williams and Jamie Jones respectively.
On Tuesday, the first round of the venue stages will conclude with the likes of Kyren Wilson, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Shaun Murphy set to enter the fray.
2025 Welsh Open
Monday’s results (L64)
Jamie Jones 4-2 Si Jiahui
Mark Selby 4-2 Haydon Pinhey
Mark Williams 4-1 Florian Nuessle
Yuan Sijun 4-1 Zhou Yuelong
Pang Junxu 4-2 Dominic Dale
Neil Robertson 4-2 Mark Davis
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 4-3 Gary Wilson
Robbie Williams 4-0 Stuart Bingham
Stephen Maguire 4-2 Xu Si
Jackson Page 4-2 Jimmy Robertson
John Higgins 4-0 Graeme Dott
Robert Milkins 4-1 Wang Yuchen
Elliot Slessor 4-0 Liam Davies
Mark Allen 4-3 Stan Moody
Tom Ford 4-2 Andrew Higginson
Zhang Anda 4-2 Ross Muir
Tuesday’s order of play (L64)
10am UTC
Barry Hawkins vs Sanderson Lam
Shaun Murphy vs Ma Hailong
1pm UTC
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Jamie Clarke
Wu Yize vs Scott Donaldson
Ryan Day vs Ben Mertens
Lyu Haotian vs Joe O’Connor
Following 1pm games
Matthew Selt vs Ricky Walden
David Gilbert vs Jordan Brown
Jak Jones vs Matthew Stevens
Kyren Wilson vs Marco Fu
7pm UTC
Noppon Saengkham vs Dylan Emery
Luca Brecel vs Stuart Carrington
Chris Wakelin vs Michael Holt
Hossein Vafaei vs Fan Zhengyi
Following 7pm games
Jack Lisowski vs Joshua Cooper
Ali Carter vs Rory Thor
Click here for the latest scores and results
(snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
