Sreeja Akula in good shape ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

It has been a week to remember for Sreeja Akula. The young paddler first created a record of being the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender single title and later she became India’s top-ranked player with a career-high ranking of World No. 24.

The 25-year-old table tennis player is now looking forward to her debut Olympics when she takes to the table at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. She has a clear goal in mind – to create the maximum number of upsets along the way.

“It’s my debut Olympic Games but I think I am well prepared for the tournament. I just want to play my best in whichever event I am playing and just want to create the maximum number of upsets,” Sreeja said in an interview with Ultimate Table Tennis.

The Hyderabad-based paddler is not new to big match pressure. She partnered with Achanta Sharath Kamal and won the gold medal in the mixed doubles category at her first-ever Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Sreeja has worked extensively on her overall fitness and also on her mental conditioning, as she wanted to be at her best ahead of the Paris Games. “For the last two years, I have been working a lot on improving my mental strength and I think that is the first aspect where I have improved, especially in 2024. I am mentally well prepared to play against any opponent, whoever it is,” she explained.

She added that strength and conditioning training improves her speed at the table and also prevents injuries. “I have also been working a lot on my strength and conditioning, especially to prevent injuries, and to improve my agility on the table. I think that has made a lot of difference in my game. I have also worked a lot on my first ball attack against the push. I have tried to be more consistent in attacking that ball and I can see these three aspects have brought a lot of change in my game,” Sreeja added.