Pandemic disrupts Akula Sreeja’s Spanish stint again
The State paddler was to play in table tennis league in the European nation
Hyderabad: The ongoing coronavirus pandemic hit the State paddler Akula Sreeja once again robbing her of an opportunity to play in Spain first division table tennis league.
The paddler had missed the chance to play in the Spanish league last year as well because of the coronavirus pandemic. A year later, the second wave of pandemic spoiled Sreeja’s plans, yet again. The top-ranked women’s paddler was to go to Spain to play in the same tournament this year as well to play for Santa D Eularia club base in Ibiza.
“Last year as well, I got all the visa and documents and was about to leave my house for the airport to go to Spain. But then we got a message from the organisers saying that Spain might undergo a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. And the next day, the country was in lockdown. This year as well, I was ready to go to Spain for the same league. I got my documents ready and applied for a visa in Mumbai. But because of the second wave, the flights from India to Spain were barred and the embassy stopped giving visas from the same day. I missed the opportunity again,” she rued.
With the rising cases forcing the State government to impose lockdown, the paddler moved to New Delhi last month to treat her aching shoulder, focus on mental strength and train in yoga. “I came to Delhi last month. I have this constant pain in my shoulder because of the overstress. I also have tennis elbow for two years. Since the Telangana State imposed lockdown, I wanted to focus on healing the shoulder niggle naturally and joined TAC Yoga Centre. I am training in yoga, meditation and mental training. My shoulder has improved a lot. Once I am back in Hyderabad, I will resume my training,” added the 22-year-old, who is an assistant manager with the Reserve Bank of India.
Speaking about the uncertainty over the calendar, she said, “I am not worried about the disrupted schedule as it is not in my hands. But I am working on things that are in my control. I just want to train and be ready whenever the schedule resumes. Practicing yoga and meditation made me calmer now.”
After winning the historic bronze at the nationals–Sreeja was the only Telugu girl so far to win a medal at nationals — she had competed in Doha international tournament. “The tournament is very competitive in nature and I lost in the final of the preliminary rounds. But it was one of my best performances in the international tournaments. I have defeated higher ranked players in the qualifying rounds. It gave me a lot of confidence. Of course, there is a lot to improve,” she said.
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