Hyderabad’s Sreeja qualifies for WTTC Finals

Hyderabad paddler Akula Sreeja has qualified for the singles events of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships Finals, scheduled to be held in May.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad paddler Akula Sreeja has qualified for the singles events of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships Finals, scheduled to be held in May, on Tuesday.

The Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medallist Sreeja defeated world No. 21 Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei 4-3 (11-2, 5-11, 2-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8) in the Round-of-16 matches of the Asian WTTC Continental Stage 2023 tournament on Tuesday.

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Stat paddlers Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra also qualified for the singles events after overcoming strong challenges. World No. 47 Sharath Kamal overcame Iran’s Ahmadian Amin 13-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-6 to book a place in the showpiece event.

Manika Batra, the top-ranked Indian in the world at 35, thumped Zhu Chengzhu of Hong Kong 13-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 in the pre-quarterfinals to seal her spot. Manika and G Sathiyan also sealed their place in the mixed doubles event of the WTTC Finals with the No. 5 ranked pair in the world beating Hiroto Shinozuka and Miyuu of Japan 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7 in the pre-quarters.

The pair of Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal also made the WTTC Finals grade beating Qatar’s Mohammed Abdulwahab and Khalil Al-Mohannandi 11-5, 11-0, 11-9, 11-8 in the men’s doubles positions matches.

Sreeja, ranked 72 in the world, seemed down and out when she trailed 1-3 against Chen Szu-Yu, but the Indian’s confidence soared after she won the fifth game 13-11. It was a tricky game, and the Hyderabad player fought intensely to take a big step before shutting out her Chinese-Taipei opponent in the last two games.