Panjim (Goa)[India], February 27 (ANI): Sreeja Akula, the diminutive Hyderabadi nationwide girls’s Table Tennis champion has had a dream run for the previous 10 months. After profitable her maiden nationwide crown in April final yr in Shillong, Sreeja skilled the excessive of a Commonwealth Games gold for the nation within the blended doubles in Birmingham final yr, with none aside from Indian legend Sharath Kamal by her facet. That efficiency, her grit and by no means say die angle, endeared her to followers and introduced her into nationwide limelight for the primary time.
The WTT Star Contender Goa is scheduled to get underway at Panjim’s Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor stadium from Monday, February 27, and can conclude on March 5.
As she prepares to participate in a primary house World Table Tennis (WTT) occasion Sreeja exudes confidence throughout a freewheeling chat.
“I aim to play the quarter-finals,” the Reserve Bank of India worker, mentioned confidently from her house in Hyderabad, when quizzed on her purpose within the match. She was naturally exhausted, what with the day starting with an hour or so of health coaching adopted by two and half hours of follow, however that didn’t stop the ever-present calm, assured and heat smile from disappearing for even a second. It camouflaged a fierce competitor beneath.
Sreeja has grown day by day for the reason that Birmingham excessive and is clearly not one to take a seat again on her laurels. After qualifying for the World Table Tennis Championships (Durban, May 2023) singles attract January in Lusail, Qatar, Sreeja performed a WTT Contender occasion in Jordan the place she gave a fright to world quantity 5 Mima Ito of Japan, taking place in 4 video games within the spherical 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 mentioned recalling the match. Mima, who received gold within the blended doubles apart from the singles bronze medal on the Tokyo Olympics, finally received the match and is somebody whose sport Sreeja has idolised together with that of Manika Batra’s.
She was in little doubt in regards to the powerful process at hand nevertheless, saying, “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.”On the hole between sturdy Table Tennis nations like China, Korea, Japan, Sweden, Germany and India, Sreeja felt, “The gap is definitely coming down now. 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.”Sreeja goals to achieve Goa on Sunday, After bidding adieu to her elder sister, additionally a former Table Tennis participant, who moved to the US simply final week. She will then have sufficient time to follow on the venue, earlier than the principle draw begins on March 1. (ANI)