Telangana’s TT player Akula Sreeja gears up for hectic season ahead

The woman table tennis player from Hyderabad is focused on staying fit and injury-free ahead of crucial Asian Games

Hyderabad: Reigning national champion Akula Sreeja has her task cut out with the hectic season ahead. The woman table tennis player from Hyderabad is focused on staying fit and injury-free ahead of crucial Asian Games.

The Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medallist is currently competing in the national ranking table tennis tournament that is being held in Hyderabad. The 24-year-old has been going through the best phases of her career winning back-to-back national titles and the CWG gold with veteran Sharath Kamal. She has been drafted into the Delhi Dabang team for the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 recently.

---

Ahead of the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in September in Hangzhou, China, Sreeja is keen to improve her world ranking to make it to the Indian team. “I have a very hectic season ahead. After this national ranking tournament, I will compete in Nigeria, Tunisia, Croatia and Slovenia internationals. And then we have the UTT Season 4 and two national ranking tournaments before the Asian Games. My aim is to keep my body fit. Playing so many back-to-back matches is very tough. So the focus is on maintaining fitness.”

“I am also playing many international tournaments to improve my world rankings. I am No.1 in national ranking and my aim is to get under 70 and 60 in the World Rankings. Both national and world rankings will be considered for the India team selections for the Asian Games,” said Sreeja who is currently ranked at 97 in the world.

Speaking about the new season, the youngster said that she was looking forward to playing in the league. “It is exciting to play the new season. I was part of Season 2 but missed the next season. With the fourth season being held after a three-year hiatus, I am looking forward to it,” she said.

“Playing in the league is crucial given that I have a long season ahead. The presence of foreign players will make the league interesting and more competitive. We have a strong team. Ayhika Mukherjee, the second Indian in the team, is also equally strong. Our foreign player Barbora (Balazova) from Slovakia is a very good one,” she added.

She also felt that leagues like UTT are the need of the hour in the country. “It is good for the game. These leagues will give more popularity. More and more people will take up the sport.”