US Open: Paddler Mudit Dani secures maiden ITTF medal, storms into doubles semifinals

Indian paddler Mudit Dani clinched his maiden International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) senior medal after progressing to the men's doubles semifinals in the US Open Championships here.

Mudit, playing alongside Canada's Marko Medjugorac, won 4-2 (11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9) against the US pairing of Tian Ye and Si Zhigao in a hard-fought quarterfinal match.

"It's even more special to win it (first ITTF senior medal) at such a prestigious event like the US Open. Our confidence is at a higher level after performing well in the earlier rounds. I am sure it will help us in the semi-finals against the Japanese pair," said Mudit.

The Indo-Canadian duo will take on giant-killers Hiromitsu Kasahara and Fujimura Tomoya of Japan, who entered the semifinals after thrashing the second-seeded pair of Kou Lei and Zheng Pu 4-0.

Mudit and Medjugorac have been producing impressive performances in the ongoing competition. They began their campaign with a gritty 3-1 win over USA's Tianrui ...