Three weeks ago he stood proud after claiming victory at the 2017 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals, this morning he would lead Team USA at the 2018 ITTF World Team Cup in London in their opening match against Hong Kong. What would ensue would be another exciting milestone in the career of the young Olympic athlete and a feat not seen by a US player perhaps since the days of players like Jimmy Butler and Eric Boggan before him - some 2-3 decades ago.



With the new format the team would open with doubles, the combination of Adar Alguetti and Tom Feng proving outmatched by Ng and Ho from Hong Kong. No doubt the team from Hong Kong China were a formidable force and the next match would see their best foot come forward. World number 7 Wong Chun Ting is widely favored as one of the world's best table tennis players, but on this morning he met more than his match.



Sitting at 88th in the world in the February world rankings, it was young Kanak Jha who was the underdog, competing against a player with many international accolades to his name, but the young American would show overwhelming positivity to produce one of the most outstanding upsets in the history of US table tennis.



It was clear from the beginning that Jha had a skip in his step and hit the ground running, while Wong was a little slower to get into his stride. Jha pounced from strength to strength as he constantly looked for openings and created opportunities. Under the guidance of coach Stefan Feth, the two time US National Champion capitalized on an early lead and his confidence continued to build.



The attention all fell to table 1 as Jha battled his way to victory in the first game, quickly pushing his case to take game 2. Game 2 would prove to be a struggle as Wong began to exhibit some more power plays, but Kanak Jha stayed close up at the table and continued to make bold moves, often finding success in stepping around to utilize his forehand attack. With two games under his belt the pressure was on, would Wong push back? Could Jha hold the pressure of being in a potential winning situation? The questions mounted.



Kanak Jha would find the answers for those questions as Wong struggled to find his footing in the match. Jha played with speed and precision, constantly keeping the pressure on his opponent and in a state of boundless positive energy as his eyes fell upon the finish line.



It would be a historic victory and a new career height for young Kanak Jha as he produced a defiant upset of the world number 7 in three straight games (11-8, 12-10, 11-8). Congratulations to Kanak, an amazing result!