Kamal Chawla, the 30-year-old from Bhopal, emerged India's unlikeliest hero as he qualified for the quarter-finals in the ONGC-IBSF World Snooker championship on Sunday that witnessed the ouster of Pankaj Advani along with other home hopes Manan Chandra and Aditya Mehta besides Yasin Merchant.

Chawla overcame Anthony Barbin of Cyprus who had broken the hearts of home fans by eliminating Advani in the round of 32 on Sunday morning. It was a very polished performance by Chawla who has been in the top eight in the country but never really in the spotlight. He demolished Barbin in style with a 5-2 margin marked by a brilliant 78 clearance in the final frame.