3 big titles Sreeja Akula has won ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics ft. WTT Contender Lagos
Indian table tennis star Sreeja Akula is in fine form heading into the Paris 2024 Paris Olympics, slated to start on Friday, July 26. She will be one of the biggest medal hopes for the country.
Akula seems to be in fine fettle and the two-time national champion will hope that having won a few major international titles will give her a big push and confidence boost ahead of the Olympics.
The 25-year-old, who won the gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games mixed doubles event with veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal, is also an Arjuna awardee.
In this listicle, we take a look at three big titles that Sreeja Akula won ahead of the Paris Olympics.
#1 WTT Feeder Corpus Christi, 2024
The WTT Feeder tournament in Corpus Christi, USA, that Sreeja Akula won in January earlier this year was extremely special as it was her first major international title.
She beat world No. 46 Lily Zhang 3-0 (11-6, 18-16, 11-5) in the final and reigned supreme with her superior balance and composure throughout the tournament.
In the semi-final, she faced Jiangshan Gao who trailed before staging a comeback in the fourth game to push the match to a decider. However, Akula held her nerve and finished out the fifth game 11-9 to enter the finals.
In what was an enthralling quarter-final, the Hyderabadi managed to trump over top seed Amy Wang 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 11-1, 6-11, 11-9).
The title win gave her the confidence to push for more major titles in the future and even boosted her morale ahead of the Paris Olympics.
#2 WTT Feeder Beirut, 2024
Another fine victory that Sreeja Akula enjoyed ahead of the Paris Olympics was the singles title at the WTT Feeder tournament in Beirut, Lebanon in March earlier this year.
The 25-year-old came from behind to secure a 1-3 (6-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9) victory over the lower-ranked Sarah D Nutte of Luxembourg in the final.
Sreeja Akula, who is a Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medalist, achieved a big feather in her cap when she previously defeated top seed Suh Hyo Won of South Korea in the same tournament.
She was in fine form throughout this tournament and thoroughly deserved the success that she achieved.
#3 WTT Contender Lagos, 2024
Akula created history in June earlier this year when she won both the singles and doubles titles at the WTT Contender tournament in Lagos, Nigeria.
She also became the first Indian to win the singles title after beating Yijie Ding of the People’s Republic of China 4-1 (10-12,11-9,11-6,11-8,11-6) in the final. In the semi-final, Akula had beaten compatriot Sutirtha Mukherjee, ranked 125th, 3-2 (11-8, 13-15, 11-9, 9-11,12-10).
Interestingly, Sreeja Akula also clinched the doubles title in Lagos along with Archana Kamath by defeating fellow Indians Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale 3-2 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10).