Sreeja Akula recalls December 2023 as a time of frustration. She had trouble winning matches in the main draw of table tennis tour events. Her goal of breaking into the top 50 in the global rankings proved unattainable, as she spent the majority of the season in the 80s and 90s. Akula reflects on a season in which she exceeded expectations. She won three tour tournaments.
This included the WTT Contender title, the first Indian to do so. She defeated China’s then-world No.2 Wang Yidi at the Team World Championships and was a member of India’s first Asian Championships medal-winning women’s team, which won bronze. Along the process, she became only the second Indian to make the round of 16 in singles at the Paris Olympics. Following the hardships of 2023, the 26-year-old began to make changes to her game.
Physically, there was increased emphasis on strength and conditioning. Technically, she needed to find a way to stop “stagnating”. It was also decided to take a calculated step back to make more progress. The Indian federation, she claimed, was paying players to compete in the WTT Contender event in Doha at the beginning of the year. Akula and her coach, Somnath Ghosh, agreed to play at a lower level, on the Feeder circuit.
Sreeja Akula Can Sustain Her 2024 Form
She chose to compete at the Corpus Christi Feeder tournament in Texas. After struggling to win a main draw match the previous year, Akula began 2024 by winning the title. In March, she won another Feeder tournament in Beirut, and she began to gain confidence, eventually winning the Contender event in Lagos in June. The win had come at an excellent time for her, especially with the 2024 Paris Olympics approaching.
However, she began to battle with a groin injury. Her career has progressed significantly during the past year. She is now ready to charge into the new season. Akula said “We thought I should go for the Feeder event to try and get some confidence and momentum. That proved to be a big win for me.”
