Paris: Sreeja Akula advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Singapore’s Jian Zeng in the women’s singles round of 32 at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, continuing India’s historic run in table tennis.
Celebrating her 26th birthday, Sreeja clinched the match with scores of 9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10, joining fellow Indian Manika Batra in the pre-quarterfinals, marking an unprecedented achievement in Indian table tennis history.
Despite losing the first game, she rallied back to win the match, which spanned 51 minutes. Batra had reached the pre-quarters on Monday, and Sreeja is set to face China’s world number one Sun Yingsha next.
After dropping the first game, Sreeja capitalized on her luck to win the second game and even the score. She narrowly won the second game despite several errors and nearly losing a three-point lead, allowing Zeng to fight back and force tie-breakers.
Buoyed by her comeback, a confident Sreeja dominated the third game, securing a strong position to progress to the next round.
Continuing her momentum, the Indian number one comfortably won the fourth game. The Singaporean player managed to win the fifth game, showing some resistance. However, Sreeja kept her composure to win the decisive sixth game in her favour.
Last month, Sreeja reached a career-best world ranking of No. 24, surpassing Batra as India’s top-ranked women’s singles player.
A two-time national champion, Sreeja made history by winning the WTT Contender singles title in Lagos in June.
She also claimed the gold medal in the mixed doubles event with Sharath Kamal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
