WTT Star Contender Goa | Want to reach the quarter-finals, says Sreeja Akula
The rising superstar of Indian table tennis, Sreeja Akula has a few expectations from the WTT Star Conetnder Goa. With none other than Indian superstar Sharath Kamal by her side, Sreeja tasted the high of a Commonwealth Games gold for the nation in the mixed doubles in Birmingham last year.
With that performance, she won over admirers with her guts and never-say-die spirit and entered the national spotlight for the first time. The WTT Star Contender Goa is slated to begin on Monday, February 27, and end on March 5 at Panjim's Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor stadium. As she is ready to compete in her maiden World Table Tennis (WTT) tournament at home, Sreeja exudes confidence.
When asked about her objective in the competition from her residence in Hyderabad, the Central Bank of India employee said firmly, "I aim to play the quarterfinals." The day had started with an hour or so of physical training, followed by two and a half hours of practise, so she was obviously fatigued, but that did not stop the ever-present serene, confident, and pleasant grin from briefly departing. It concealed a tenacious rival beneath.
Sreeja has improved every day since her high school graduation in Birmingham, and she is obviously not one to rest on her laurels. Sreeja competed in a WTT Contender tournament in Jordan after qualifying for the World Table Tennis Championships (Durban, May 2023) singles draw in January in Lusail, Qatar. There, she gave the world's fifth-ranked player, Mima Ito of Japan, a scare before losing in four games in the round of 32.
“I gave her a tough fight in all the games and even took a game off her. It has given me a lot of confidence,” She recalled the match and stated. The competition was ultimately won by Mima, whose game Sreeja had idolised along with Manika Batra's and who also earned a gold medal in the mixed doubles in the Tokyo Olympics.
Yet she made it clear that she was aware of how difficult the task at hand would be, declaring, “It is going to be a very tough tournament as all the top players are participating. It is definitely the strongest singles main draw I have played in. I have participated in Star Contender events before but the field was not this high on quality. I also participated in the Singapore Grand Smash last year but only in the qualifiers. I will try and not take any pressure and take it match by match. Training has been going on very well and I am confident of a good show.”
Sreeja said that the gap between powerful Table Tennis nations like China, Korea, Japan, Sweden, Germany, and India was now unquestionably closing. “We have seen how Manika Di has recently beaten top Chinese and Japanese players also. Even our juniors like Suhana, Yashaswini are doing very well so we are definitely getting better. The gap I believe comes in fitness levels mainly. Also, the Asian nations particularly have it in their blood you can say. They have sports schools and villages where people leave their children at the age of four and five. So it’s like a tradition. So the environment there is totally different. But as I said, we are definitely closing the gap and TT is really growing fast in the country.”
After saying goodbye to her older sister, who is also a former table tennis player and just moved to the US, Sreeja hopes to be in Goa on Sunday. Before the main draw on March 1st, she will have enough opportunity to practise at the location.