Ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal, who became the first Indian to reach the reach the semi-finals of an ITTF pro-tour event at the Brazil [Images] Open in Sao Paulo, was halted in his stride on Sunday.

He was beaten by Jin Kwon Lee of Korea 2-4 in the semi-finals.

Earlier report: Sharath in Brazil Open semis

Sharath Kamal, confident after a convincing 4-1 victory over Christophe Bertin of France [Images] in the quarter-finals, began with a win in the first game but the Korean snatched the lead by pulling off the next two consecutive games.

The Indian levelled the scores in the fourth game but Lee, who was also making his first appearance in the semis of a pro-tour event, won two more games to seal victory a 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11 victory.

Earlier, Sharath Kamal's 11-8 7-11 11-9 12-10 11-3 win in the last eight stage helped him book his maiden semis ticket in the pro-tour circuit.

The 23-year-old lanky paddler from Chennai, who had bagged both the singles and team event gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March, thus achieved a new high in his career.