With notable performances in 2017, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran became only the second Indian to feature in the top 50 in the official International Table Tennis Federation world rankings announced on Monday.

Gnanasekaran starts the new year in 49th position as per the new ITTF ranking system introduced in September. He follows fellow Tamilian Sharath Kamal, who had peaked at the 32nd position, to have achieved the feat of breaking into the top 50. Kamal is currently ranked 51st as per standings released on January 1.

Just 24, Gnanasekaran’s win in the 2017 ITTF Challenge Spanish Open held in Almeria in November served as his crowning glory of the year. That, along with his other results, allowed the Chennai-born right-hander to jump from a ranking of 102 in June 2017 to 49th in just six months.

“Huge milestone in my life!” the paddler summed up in his Facebook post.