CHENNAI — In a match that will be talked about for years in Indian table tennis circles, Snehit Suravajjula delivered a performance for the ages at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026, saving an astonishing six match points before defeating Japan's Mizuki Oikawa, the 13th seed, 3-2 to storm into the pre-quarterfinals.

The 52-minute battle reached a crescendo in the deciding fifth game, where Oikawa appeared to have the match firmly in his grasp on multiple occasions. Yet Suravajjula, fueled by the energy of a passionate home crowd, refused to surrender. Time and again, with his tournament life hanging by a thread, the Indian clawed his way back from the brink, displaying nerves of steel and shot-making ability that belied the enormous pressure of the moment.

The fifth game scoreline of 18-16 tells only part of the story. Each of those 34 points carried the weight of an entire match, with Oikawa unable to convert any of his six match point opportunities. When Suravajjula finally sealed victory on his third match point, the arena erupted in celebration, acknowledging a comeback that transcended mere sport and entered the realm of pure theater.

For Oikawa, it was a bitter pill to swallow. The Japanese paddler, seeded 13th in the tournament, had done everything right to earn those six match points. But in the cauldron of Chennai, with thousands of Indian fans willing their man to victory, the finishing blow proved elusive. It is a defeat that will haunt him, not because of any failing on his part, but because of the sheer, relentless refusal of his opponent to accept it.

Suravajjula's heroics were not the only reason for Indian fans to celebrate on the day. In the women's singles draw, qualifier Nithya Mani produced her own stunning upset, defeating 14th seed Minhyung Jee of Australia 3-2 to book her own place in the pre-quarterfinals. Mani's victory was further proof that the depth of Indian table tennis continues to grow, with emerging talents proving they can compete with and beat established international opponents on the biggest stages.

The twin upsets underline the significance of hosting a WTT Star Contender event on Indian soil. The home advantage is not merely about familiar surroundings or the absence of travel fatigue. It is about the roar of the crowd at crucial moments, the collective belief that fills the arena, and the extra fraction of a second of courage that a player finds when an entire nation seems to be standing behind them.

As the tournament progresses into the pre-quarterfinal stage, both Suravajjula and Mani will carry the hopes of a tennis-table-mad nation on their shoulders. For Suravajjula in particular, the question now is whether the emotional and physical toll of that extraordinary 52-minute marathon will affect his next outing. Players who survive such epic encounters can go one of two ways — they either ride the wave of momentum to even greater heights, or they find that the tank is simply empty.

If his performance against Oikawa is anything to go by, however, writing off Snehit Suravajjula would be a very unwise thing to do. This is a player who stared down six match points and smiled. Whatever comes next, Chennai has already witnessed something special.