Nigeria, June 24 (Agency) Indian table tennis star Sreeja Akula made history by clinching both the women’s singles and doubles titles at the WTT Contender Lagos 2024, held at the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall here on Sunday. The 25-year-old Akula, a member of India’s table tennis contingent for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, triumphed over China’s 16-year-old Yijie Ding with a commanding 4-1 victory (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6) in the singles final. This win marked a significant milestone for Indian table tennis, as Akula became the first player from the country to secure a WTT Contender singles title. In the semifinals, Akula had earlier defeated her compatriot and Tokyo Olympian Sutirtha Mukherjee in a closely contested match, prevailing 3-2 (11-8, 13-15, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10). Sutirtha had herself advanced by overcoming defending champion and world No. 8 Shin Yubin of South Korea 3-2 (11-9, 3-11, 0-11, 11-9, 11-6) in a thrilling quarterfinal encounter.In the doubles category, Akula partnered with Archana Kamath to secure another gold for India, defeating Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale 3-2 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10) in an all-Indian final showdown.
Meanwhile, India’s top-ranked women’s player Manika Batra, ranked 28th globally, faced an unexpected defeat in the round of 16 against Egypt’s Farida Badawy, ranked 331st, losing 3-2 (11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8).In the men’s doubles final, national champion Harmeet Desai paired with Manav Thakkar to defeat Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo and Azeez Solanke in straight sets, securing India’s first men’s doubles title at a WTT Contender event with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) victory. All four Indian players who clinched titles – Sreeja Akula, Archana Kamath, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar – are part of India’s contingent for the Paris Olympics. Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal, who will be competing in his fifth Olympics in Paris next month, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by French teenager Thibault Poret, who won 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6).This remarkable performance underscores India’s growing stature in international table tennis ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.