Hyderabad’s Sreeja named in Indian TT squad for Asian Games

Hyderabad table tennis player Akula Sreeja will represent the country in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles events

Hyderabad: Hyderabad table tennis player and reigning national champion Akula Sreeja has been named in the Indian team for the upcoming Asian Games.

The city girl will represent the country in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles events while veteran Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra will lead Indian campaign in the continental showpiece event.

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Meanwhile, another Hyderabad player S Fidel R Snehit has been named in the men’s reserves team along with Sanhil Shetty. Sreeja had paired with Sharath Kama to win gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in mixed doubles category. However, Sreeja is now paired with Harmeet Desai and will be the second mixed doubles pair while Sharath has been paired with Manika. In the women’s doubles, Sreeja will partner Diya Chitale.

With restrictions on two singles entries per gender at the Asian Games, the selectors have given their nod to Sharath, Sathiyan, Manika and Sreeja for the men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

The Indian contingent had ended a 60-year wait for a table tennis medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta five years ago. The squad exceeded all expectations by winning bronze in men’s team and mixed doubles. The senior selection committee of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) named a 10-member squad, comprising five men and five women, for the upcoming 26th Asian Championships in Pyeongchang, Korea as well as the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The Asian Championships in Korea are scheduled between September 3 and 10, while the Asian Games are between September 23 and October 2.

The squads

Men: A Shara th Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah. Reserve: 1. SFR Snehit, 2. Sanil Shetty.

Women: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Ayhika Mukherjee and Diya Chitale. Reserve: 1. Archana Kamath, 2. Reeth Rishya.

Men’s Doubles: A Sharath Kamal/G Sathiyan and Manav Thakkar/Manush Shah.

Women’s Doubles: Sutirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale. Mixed Doubles: Manika Batra/G Sathiyan and Sreeja Akula/Harmeet Desai.