Ramit Tandon shocks Victor Crouin to reach Semifinals at Ace Malaysia Squash Cup

India's Ramit Tandon, ranked 43rd in the world, pulled off a remarkable victory over the third-seeded Victor Crouin at the Ace Malaysia Squash Cup, on Wednesday. Tandon's triumph marked his biggest PSA semi-final appearance in over four years.

Tandon had never managed to defeat Crouin in their previous three encounters on the PSA Tour. However, in a thrilling and closely contested match, he overcame a 2-1 deficit to secure a 12-10, 4-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6 victory, booking his place in the semifinals of this Bronze-level event.

Crouin started the match strongly, initially appearing to continue his dominant form from the previous day's victory over Hong Kong's Henry Leung. He raced to a 10-5 lead, seemingly in control. However, Tandon mounted an incredible comeback, capitalizing on four consecutive errors from Crouin to take seven consecutive points.

Crouin, regaining his composure, claimed the second game with precision and intelligence, thanks to some words of encouragement from his father between games. The Frenchman maintained his momentum in the third game, despite a moment of controversy regarding a referee's decision. A tin from Tandon handed Crouin the lead for the first time.

Tandon, displaying resilience and exceptional reading of Crouin's game, fought back to level the match in the fourth game, forcing a decisive fifth game. In the final game, Tandon continued to apply pressure, leaving Crouin struggling for answers and ultimately securing his spot in the semifinals.

Following his incredible victory, Tandon commented, "I was just trying to play as well as I could. Victor is a solid player, and he is one of those players that you really need to dig deep against to beat.

India's number one Saurav Ghosal is out of quarterfinals after suffering a defeat against Mostafa Asal.