Sreeja Akula storms into Round of 32 with dominant win over Christina Kallberg at Paris Olympics
Sreeja Akula beat Christina Kallberg of Sweden in the Round of 64 match 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 on Day 3 of the Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian paddler comfortably won her match in straight sets and dominated her opponent to enter the Round of 32.
Sreeja Akula had a blazing start to her match as she claimed a massive lead of 9-2 in the first set. Despite a minor fightback from Kallberg, Sreeja managed to clinch the first set 11-4 without breaking a sweat.
In the second set, the Swedish put up a better showing. However, Akula held on to her nerves and finished the set 11-9 to claim a lead of 2-0. The Indian coach seemed to be impressed with her composure in crunch moments.
With momentum on her back, Akula started well in the third set. Christina seemed to be under a bit of pressure against the Olympic debutant who was strong on both forehand and backhand.
Kallberg forced herself to a decent return in the third set as she came close to Sreeja Akula, trailing 5-7 at one point. But the Indian paddler got past the Swedish to clinch the third set 11-7.
Sreeja Akula will face Singapore's Jian Zeng in the Round of 32
With every point, the Indian paddler gained the confidence of the fans. The chants of “India” were audible in the arena as the crowd rallied behind Sreeja in the fourth set. She was at her dominating best in the fourth set, racing to a lead of 9-3.
Sreeja Akula tried to finish the game quickly but ended up conceding some points with a few unforced errors. The Swedish paddler won four points in a row but despite some nervous moments towards the end, Sreeja won the fourth set 11-8 to finish the game.
In what was an impressive debut at the Olympics, it took Sreeja Akula just 30 minutes to win her game. She will be up against Jian Zeng of Singapore in the Round of 32. Zeng overcame the challenge of Ivan Malobabic of Croatia to enter the last 32.
The match went to the last set where the Singaporean claimed a 11-5 win to emerge victorious. If Akula manages to beat the Singaporean, she will become the first Indian paddler from the women's Singles division to enter the Round of 16 at the Olympics.