Sreeja Akula creates history, becomes first Indian table tennis player to win WTT Contender singles title

Young Indian paddler Sreeja Akula became the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender singles title after beating China’s Ding Yijie 4-1 in the final of the WTT Contender Lagos in Nigeria. Later, she also won the doubles title partnering Archana Kamath.

Apart from Sreeja and Archana, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar too emerged victorious when they won the men’s doubles title beating Nigeria’s Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8).

Sreeja and Archana beat compatriots Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10) in the women’s doubles final.

The title win augurs well for the paddlers as all the four – Sreeja Akula, Archana Kamath, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar – are in the Indian team for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sreeja was at her clinical best in overpowering a challenge from Yijie and she won 4-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6) to seal the deal in her favour. Earlier in the semifinals, Sreeja beat Sutirtha Mukherjee 3-2 while Yijie beat Ayhika Mukherjee with the same scoreline.

However, there were a couple of ‘upsets’ in the Indian ranks when Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra fell in the wayside. While Sharath Kamal lost to 19-year-old French paddler Thibault Poret 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6) in the quarterfinals, Manika lost in the round-of-16 to 331st-ranked Farida Badawy of Egypt 3-2 (11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8). Manika is ranked 28th in the world.

In the mixed doubles event, Diya Chitale and Manush Shah reached the semifinals where they lost 1-3 to China’s Luo Jiecheng and Xu Huiyao. Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath also reached the semifinals where they lost to eventual winners Shin and Lim Jonghoon of South Korea.

Sreeja Akula will next play in two tournaments in Tunisia and Bangkok before embarking on a 10-day training trip to Germany before the prestigious 2024 Paris Olympics.